Humana acknowledged late Tuesday it has an exclusive deal to offer Gilead Sciences' hepatitis C drugs to its members.
Humana CEO Bruce Broussard
told investors in a breakout session that it has a pricing arrangement
with Gilead, but he did not disclose what kind of discount the health
insurer received for the pricey drugs. High specialty drug costs were
part of the reason why Humana's profit was lower in the third quarter.
The
company's announcement is the latest in a string of bargaining battles
between health insurers and pharmacy benefits managers and
pharmaceutical companies. Anthem was the first payer to announce an
agreement, saying last week it would use Gilead's drugs for its
hepatitis C patients. Gilead makes Sovaldi and Harvoni, which cost
$84,000 and $94,500 respectively for the usual 12 weeks of treatment.
Read more... Labels: Gilead, Humana, insurance coverage