A bold partnership to lower the cost of generic prescription medications

A bold partnership to lower the cost of generic prescription medications

While many generic medicines cost less than brand name drugs, some high-cost generics are more expensive than they need to be due to lack of competition in the market. With generic medicines accounting for nearly 90 percent of all prescriptions, numerous studies confirm that medication costs can dictate whether patients fill or ration their generic prescriptions.                                                                       

That’s why, in 2020, Civica Rx, along with 18 Blue Cross companies, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, formed a new subsidiary, which we now know as CivicaScript. This subsidiary was established with the aim of lowering the prices of generic medications.

The guiding principle for CivicaScript’s portfolio development is to target both specialty and traditional generics where there is greatest opportunity to substantially reduce prices for patients. CivicaScript anticipates this approach will deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in savings – which will be passed along to the consumers who rely on these essential medicines.

The organization is initially focused on six to 10 medications for which there currently is not enough market competition to ensure low, sustainable prices. The first CivicaScript medicine, abiraterone 250 mg, was launched in 2022. In addition, CivicaScript is working with Civica, Inc. and numerous partners to bring affordable insulin to market.

The maximum retail price a member can be charged for CivicaScript abiraterone is $171 for 120 tablets. This is about $3,000 per month less than the average cost¹ per bottle.

This partnership on the CivicaScript initiative is one of the many ways Blue Cross is ensuring patients’ needs come first, and that cost savings are passed along to consumers to help decrease health care costs and ensure high-quality health care.

CivicaScript is a statutory public benefit company that is committed to the principles of providing affordable generic medications in a manner that promotes the social welfare and health of the community. CivicaScript is a sister company to Civica, Inc. (Civica Rx), which was created in 2018 as a nonprofit public asset to help prevent chronic shortages of hospital-based medicines — and the price spikes that often accompany them.