GlaxoSmithKline, American Pharmacists Association Foundation To Launch Program To Reduce Employer Costs for Diabetes
GlaxoSmithKline and the American Pharmacists Association Foundation in January 2006 will launch a nationwide project that seeks to improve the health of diabetic patients and reduce employers' health care costs, the Wall Street Journal reports. Under the Ten City Challenge project -- based on an eight-year initiative in Asheville, N.C. -- participating employers must agree to waive workers' copayments on medicines to treat diabetes to encourage the drugs' use. The project seeks to enroll employers in 10 cities around the U.S. All diabetes prescription medications will be included in the program. Patients would be matched with specially trained pharmacists to learn how to manage their diabetes more effectively. A spokesperson for the initiative said that employers would pay between $350 and $450 per patient for coaching by the pharmacists in the first year but added that such costs would decrease over time. According to the spokesperson, employer spending on drugs could double in the first year, as employees with diabetes improve their compliance with treatment regimens. However, participating employers in the North Carolina initiative reportedly saved about $900 per patient with diabetes in the first year of the initiative. In addition, employees would save $400 to $600 annually on copays. Christopher Viehbacher, president of GSK's U.S. pharmaceuticals unit, said diabetes is among the most costly conditions for employers because of complications such as heart, kidney, eye and nerve damage. GSK, which is funding the project, hopes to reduce overall employer health care costs and "show the value of pharmaceuticals and careful attention to patient care," the Journal reports (Hensley, Wall Street Journal, 10/25).
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