CVS Health loses Tyson Foods as PBM

Tyson Foods is leaving CVS Health’s Caremark, which manages prescription benefits, in favor of a cheaper alternative, reports CNBC.

Replacing CVS will be prescription benefits manager (PBM) startup Rightway, and Tyson Foods is now the first Fortune 100 company to steer away from traditional large PBMs.

It mainly has to do with price. Rightway guarantees it can save employers 15% on pharmacy costs through a transparent model which involves passing drug discounts to companies and plan members while also providing concierge care, giving employees access to lower-cost drug alternatives.

This could be the start of a trend where big-name businesses divorce themselves from more prominent PBMs to save money.

Tyson Foods said it was seeing 12% to 14% increases in pharmacy costs, and also chose Rightway to get the kind of data it wanted.

CVS will continue to provide specialty drug pharmacy services in conjunction with Rightway, reports CNBC.

In August 2023, Blue Shield of California dropped CVS Caremark in favor of a group of companies that provide the same services at a lower cost.

Among those included in the new network are Amazon, which will handle drug delivery, the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, which will have access to several pharmacies for cheaper medication, and Abarca to handle drug claims.

Related:CVS will close select Target pharmacies

Blue Shield of California estimates the change, which will be ready to launch in 2025, will save the company more than $500 million annually and will use the savings on its clients.