(Reuters) -Eli Lilly is dropping CVS Health’s drug benefit plan for its employees after the healthcare conglomerate stopped covering the company’s weight-loss drug in favor of Novo Nordisk’s rival medication, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Beginning January 1, Lilly employees covered by the company’s medical plan will be automatically […]
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Eli Lilly drops CVS drug plan for staff after Novo obesity deal, Bloomberg News reports
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(Reuters) -Eli Lilly is dropping CVS Health’s drug benefit plan for its employees after the healthcare conglomerate stopped covering the company’s weight-loss drug in favor of Novo Nordisk’s rival medication, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Beginning January 1, Lilly employees covered by the company’s medical plan will be automatically enrolled for coverage through pharmacy benefit manager Rightway, according to a document viewed by Bloomberg.
Eli Lilly routinely reviews its benefit service providers and Rightway offers “competitive fees and services aligned with the best interests of our employees, retirees and their families,” the company told Reuters in an emailed response.
However, it did not directly address whether the shift away from CVS was linked to the Zepbound coverage decision.
Rightway did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. Reuters could not immediately verify the Bloomberg report linking the two.
Rightway is a pharmacy benefit manager that works on a fee basis. Last year, Tyson Foods also dropped CVS as its pharmacy benefit manager and replaced it with Rightway.
CVS had said in May its Caremark pharmacy benefit management unit had decided to drop Lilly’s weight-loss drug Zepbound as a preferred product from its reimbursement list from July 1. CVS retained Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy after negotiating more favorable pricing for the medicine.
CVS spokesperson David Whitrap told Reuters that while the company won’t comment on specific clients, Caremark’s overall client retention remains in the high 90% range year after year.
The pharmacy benefit manager offers options that cover both Zepbound and Wegovy, but “this option is costlier for plan sponsors than our standard commercial formulary that excludes Zepbound,” Whitrap added.
“Our move earlier this year to negotiate Lilly and Novo against one another drove significant savings for our clients,” Whitrap added.
(Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal Dheeraj Kumar and Sneha S K in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Leroy Leo)