AmerisourceBergen Ready to Support Transitioning Pharmaceutical Rebates to Point-of-Sale Discounts

VALLEY FORGE, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AmerisourceBergen, a global healthcare solutions leader, in concert with
their industry trade association the Healthcare Distribution Alliance,
has proposed a comprehensive framework that would support the proposed
move from the current rebate system to point-of-sale (POS) discounts in
response to the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Notice
of Proposed Rule Making regarding the Removal of Safe Harbor Protection
for Rebates Involving Prescription Pharmaceuticals.
AmerisourceBergen supports policies that lower out-of-pocket costs for
patients and stands ready to support a transition to a patient-centered
model with distributors serving as chargeback administrators for a
January 1, 2020 start.

“At AmerisourceBergen, we are acutely aware of the access issues facing
American patients and are deeply committed to reforms that realign
incentives in the best interests of patient health,” said Steve Collis,
Chairman, President & CEO of AmerisourceBergen. “As the connector of
pharmaceutical innovators and healthcare providers, distributors are
uniquely positioned to support the seamless and efficient delivery of
POS discounts to Medicare beneficiaries. We come prepared with solutions
that are fair, efficient and transparent, and that’s why we believe we
are best positioned to lead this transition.”

The Case for a Distributor-Facilitated Model

• Relationships Built on Trust: Pharmaceutical distributors have
  strong service-oriented relationships, built on fairness and trust,
  with their pharmacy customers and manufacturer partners. These
  longstanding relationships allow distributors to approach this reform
  in a fair and equitable way to meet the needs of all stakeholders, and
  most importantly, create a positive impact for patients. Further,
  pharmacies are important customers for wholesalers, so it is in
  distributors’ best interest to ensure that pharmacies promptly receive
  POS discounts. In addition, distributors have no role in setting the
  price of brand pharmaceuticals and do not influence formulary
  decision-making.
• Proven Experience and Infrastructure: Distributors and
  manufacturers already have the requisite building blocks in place to
  operationalize chargeback amounts due for discounts applied at the
  point of sale. Distributors and manufacturers manage and maintain
  complex contract administration and chargeback systems today that
  enable manufacturer discounts for health system customers. In 2018
  alone, AmerisourceBergen exchanged over 300 million chargeback
  transactions with manufacturers with greater than 99% successfully
  completed in three business days or less. Extending this proven
  chargeback system to handle POS discounts would be a natural evolution.
• Commitment to Transparency: Chargebacks would be processed with
  full visibility and auditability by all stakeholders. Further, given
  the existing direct financial relationships with both manufacturers
  and providers, distributors could facilitate chargebacks through
  adjustments to their accounts payable to manufacturers and accounts
  receivable from pharmacies, resulting in cashless transactions.

To further operationalize, pharmaceutical distributors would, directly
or indirectly from their customers, secure the requisite chargeback
detail from the POS claims and provide an efficient and effective
process for manufacturers to make pharmacies whole, meeting or exceeding
the mandatory 14-day prompt pay requirement.

“We are ready to play a role, and hope our suppliers, dispensing
partners and industry peers will join us in pursuing a
distributor-facilitated model that would no doubt improve transparency
and deliver more value directly to patients,” said Collis.

Read AmerisourceBergen’s response to HHS’ proposed rule here.

About AmerisourceBergen

AmerisourceBergen provides pharmaceutical products, value-driving
services and business solutions that improve access to care. Tens of
thousands of healthcare providers, veterinary practices and livestock
producers trust us as their partner in the pharmaceutical supply chain.
Global manufacturers depend on us for services that drive commercial
success for their products. Through our daily work—and powered by our
21,000 associates—we are united in our responsibility to create
healthier futures. AmerisourceBergen is ranked #12 on the Fortune 500,
with more than $160 billion in annual revenue. The company is
headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa. and has a presence in 50+ countries.
Learn more at www.amerisourcebergen.com.

Contacts

Gabe Weissman
Vice President, Communications
610.727.3696
[email protected]

Francesca Gunning
Manager, External Communications
610.727.7433
[email protected]