Friday, March 08, 2024

Copay Comes Full Circle: An Industry Ready for Disruption

Today’s guest post comes from Logan Melchione, VP of Patient Affordability at Paysign.

Logan discusses the evolution of patient support programs. She then outlines how these programs must evolve to stay relevant and valuable.

To request an analysis of your copay savings program and learn more about Paysign’s patient affordability solutions, contact affordability@paysign.com or visit paysign.com/rx.

Read on for Logan’s insights.

Copay Comes Full Circle: An Industry Ready for Disruption
By Logan Melchione, VP, Patient Affordability, Paysign

The patient affordability industry, originally born from innovation, may be facing the perfect conditions for a major disruption. Copay savings cards sponsored by drug manufacturers appeared nearly two decades ago as a modern solution to make lifesaving treatments and medications more affordable for patients by reducing their out-of-pocket costs.

Early programs took the form of instant rebate debit cards given directly to patients, pairing the healthcare and financial industries, and quickly became the standard. As these solutions matured, new technologies were introduced that use the pharmacy claims system to reduce the patient’s amount owed at the point of purchase, producing an entire industry of patient affordability solution providers.

Today, however, providers and their related processing services have become stagnant, with no differentiating features setting one copay program apart from another.

COPAY AS A COMMODITY

Many patient affordability providers have since poured their innovation and resources into a wide array of additional patient and hub services, software, analytics, and auxiliary tools. Copay processing became a core source of income to develop these other offerings, the result of which, in some cases, has been misleading pricing spreads and lack of transparency. Soon after, the healthcare industry changed.

The introduction and consequent viral spread of copay accumulators and maximizers—methods for third parties such as PBMs and payers to divert funds away from patient assistance and back into their pockets—have had direct and costly impacts on drug manufacturers and, ultimately, on patients.

Matthew Turner, President of Patient Affordability at Paysign, has more than a decade of hands-on experience working with clients in the pharmaceutical industry. When asked about the state of his industry, Matt has commented, “As I spoke with companies sponsoring copay savings programs, I realized their concerns were being ignored, and some didn’t realize where bigger concerns might be exposed. Moreover, my peers working for copay service providers were noticing their industry stagnate. We discovered an opportunity to shift how copay programs are architected while bringing innovation back to a service that is so crucial to patient outcomes.”

AN INDUSTRY READY FOR REBIRTH

After years with no major improvements, the industry is ready for a disruption, and the next evolution in copay will favor those providers who listen, innovate, and adapt. Paysign has assembled a team of the top experts in patient affordability and payments to do just that—through streamlined copay savings programs that eliminate unnecessary costs and foster transparency across the healthcare landscape. As a standalone patient affordability vendor who specializes in copay program services, Paysign is solving what affects the pharmaceutical industry by:
  • Focusing on innovation, development, and integration
  • Identifying and deterring copay accumulators and maximizers
  • Using fair and transparent pricing practices
  • Offering seamless program transitions
  • Offering enhanced medical benefit copay programs with unmatched processing times
  • Having a foundation in fintech with healthcare insight
  • Providing actionable business intelligence
PAYSIGN: SHIFTING THE PATIENT AFFORDABILITY PARADIGM

Today, Paysign has brought the patient affordability industry full circle to a new era of improvement. I’m extremely proud to be part of this team at the forefront of innovation in copay programs. We’ve had the opportunity to build new technologies from scratch that incorporate the latest arsenal of tools to ensure our clients’ patient savings programs are successful.

Paysign consistently delivers intelligent solutions that restructure patient affordability programs, eliminate unnecessary costs, and mitigate the impact of accumulator and maximizer programs, all with new levels of data and analytics. As stewards of good pricing practices and making it a primary goal to drive transparency across the healthcare industry, Paysign is a reliable and consultative partner to pharmaceutical industry clients and is committed to ensuring every solution helps increase access, adherence, and positive outcomes for patients.

Discover how we’re reshaping patient affordability. Request an in-depth analysis of your copay savings programs by emailing us at affordability@paysign.com or visit paysign.com/rx.


The content of Sponsored Posts do not necessarily reflect the views of HMP Omnimedia, LLC, Drug Channels Institute, its parent company, or any of its employees. To find out how you can publish a guest post on Drug Channels, please contact Paula Fein (paula@DrugChannels.net).

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