Express Scripts by Evernorth members paid less for prescriptions in 2023

Express Scripts, the pharmacy benefits services business of Evernorth, a subsidiary of The Cigna Group, released research spotlighting that members with employer-provided coverage paid less at the pharmacy counter for prescription drugs in 2023 compared to the previous year. On average, members with employer-sponsored drug coverage paid $15.10 out-of-pocket for a 30-day prescription in 2023, a decrease of about 1% compared to 2022. While drug manufacturers raised prices for 60% of branded drugs in 2023, data confirm that Express Scripts lowered out of pocket costs for these members as a result of its negotiations with pharmaceutical manufacturers and innovative solutions, even as consumer prices for goods and services increased in the United States from 2022 to 2023. On average, members with employer-sponsored drug coverage paid $15.10 out of pocket for a 30-day prescription in 2023. For the entirety of 2023, four in five Express Scripts members – 81% – spent less than $250 out of pocket for their medicines, or about $20 per month. Nearly two-thirds of members spent even less, even as the median annual list price for a new drug reached $300,000 last year, according to a Reuters analysis, up from $222,000 a year earlier.