Comp Expert: Watch Rx Costs

Comp Expert: Watch Rx Costs

By Daniel Hays

NU Online News Service, Aug. 24, 3:40 p.m. EDT, Orlando, Fla.?An insurance expert yesterday advised an audience of workers' compensation industry professionals to put a lid on benefit costs by controlling pharmaceutical bills of injured workers.[@@]

That counsel came from Nancy Brennan, director of product development, the Hartford Specialty Risk Services in Hartford, Ct. She spoke on a panel on national trends in workers' comp at the Workers' Compensation Educational Conference here, held by the Florida Workers' Compensation Institute and National Underwriter.

She noted that a breakdown of claims dollars shows that 55 percent goes for medical expenses against 45 percent for lost wages. She said that of medical costs, 20 percent relate to pharmaceutical costs.

Ms. Brennan said that prescription drug cost increases have been two to five times greater than hikes for hospital care between 1995 and 2000. She cited industry data showing that 50 percent of injured workers are offered prescription drugs, with an average of 2.4 medications prescribed per worker. The average number of refills per prescription, she said, is five, and the average cost per prescription is $63.

Some highly touted high powered drugs are so powerful, she added, that additional drugs are needed to abate their side effects.

Ms. Brennan suggested as strategies to counter the high cost of prescription drugs: hiring pharmacy benefit managers who can negotiate rates, using automated systems to red flag some bills, offering mail order and pharmacy cards for the purchase of drugs, and developing quality benchmarking to identify fraud and abuse.

Among the drug types most described for workers' comp injuries, she said, are those for pain, at 55 percent. A geographic study of prescriptions associated with workers claims found more treatment with anti-depressants on the West Coast and more narcotic drugs on the East Coast, she said.