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Viewpoints from Craig Hasday This year brings significant changes to the health insurance marketplace. Amazon completed its acquisition of One Medical. The retail pharmacy capabilities gained via Amazon’s Pill Pack acquisition have bolstered Amazon’s mission to make it easier for people to find, choose, afford, and engage with virtual and traditional primary care services. In another significant move, Humana announced that it would be exiting the Employer Group Commercial Medical Products business. Humana will continue to offer Medicare Advantage, Group Medicare, Medicare Supplement, Medicare Prescription Drug Plans, Medicaid, Military, and Specialty products (Dental, Vision, Life, etc.). Medical cost …

Viewpoints from Craig Hasday Affordability is the single biggest issue in healthcare. There is no greater challenge for plan sponsors than managing the cost of pharmacy benefits. For some groups, pharmacy costs exceed 30% of total cost accruals. Specialty pharmacy is growing faster than the rate of medical inflation, potentially representing 50% of this expense. The pipeline for specialty medications includes treatments with price tags in the six- and seven-figure ranges. For many participants in the health insurance ecosphere, pharmacy is an area where the greatest margin can be achieved since the distribution and component costs are complex and …