Dr Bruce Sherman Looks Forward to Ongoing Research on the Impacts of Co-pay Accumulator Adjustment Programs

Ongoing studies are aiming to determine how co-pay accumulator adjustment programs affect individuals’ medication adherence and persistence, with the hope that the results will inform employers on more equitable benefits strategies, according to Bruce Sherman, MD, chief medical officer of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions.

Transcript

How are you researching health equity issues surrounding co-pay accumulator adjustment programs?

At the National Alliance, our work and the work of the Medical Director Advisory Council has been focused, to a good extent, on issues of benefits equity and affordability of health benefits, and building on some earlier work we’re now in the process of gaining a better understanding of the impact of co-pay accumulator adjustment programs on individuals receiving specialty medications in different wage classes, doing a rather substantial study looking at a database of over 2 and a half million covered employee lives to see what impact these co-pay accumulator adjustment programs have on individual adherence and persistence with specialty medications. My hope is that the results of that study will help to further add to the evidence base and inform employers and plan sponsors about appropriate and equitable benefits strategies relating to specialty medications and co-pay assistance support and the value of co-pay accumulator adjustment programs.