Nonprofit health plan and Gemini Health deliver real-time notifications, allowing members to compare prescription drug prices, find lower-cost alternatives
Today, Blue Shield of California announced a new, first-of-its-kind offering: mobile push notifications that let members know when their doctor initiates an e-prescription order, prompting patients to view drug prices and compare alternatives, including lower-cost options.
Powered by Gemini Health and accessible in the Blue Shield mobile app, the Price Check My Rx dashboard allows members to immediately view the out-of-pocket price of any new or renewed prescription medications ordered by their clinician and covered by their pharmacy benefit plan. Members can also view lower-cost, alternative medications and other in-network pharmacies, and look for available discounts.
As the first health plan in the country to offer these real-time notifications, Blue Shield is building on its commitment to a more transparent and affordable healthcare system. Blue Shield sends the same drug cost and alternatives information to clinicians when they are e-prescribing, helping facilitate their conversations with members as they make informed medication decisions, including selection of the most affordable options.
“I’m proud that we are removing the guesswork for patients when it comes to drug costs,” said Jigar Shah, chief marketing and strategy officer at Blue Shield of California. “With this new digital experience, we are bringing transparency straight to our members’ fingertips so they can view and discuss their medication and price options with their provider. This is another important step toward a healthcare system that is worthy of our family and friends and sustainably affordable.”
In recent years, Blue Shield has launched a number of products and enhancements aimed at easing the healthcare experience for members, including simple online appointment booking powered by Zocdoc, and Virtual Blue — a benefit plan that integrates high-quality primary care, specialist care, behavioral health and mental health support in a virtual-forward care model. Today’s announcement builds on the health plan’s efforts to engage and support members along their care journeys with tools that are accessible on their everyday devices.
“For too long, patients have found themselves in line at the pharmacy counter not knowing what new prescriptions will cost, whether lower-cost alternatives are available, or if there are other coverage issues,” said Edward Fotsch, chief executive officer at Gemini Health. “We are very excited to continue our collaboration with Blue Shield in this new opportunity to deliver price transparency and choice for their members.”
Prescription drug affordability remains a top priority at Blue Shield. In 2018, the nonprofit health plan announced its collaboration with Gemini Health to give healthcare providers instant access to lower-cost, alternative medication options for patients. Since 2022 alone, these efforts have generated more than $100 million in savings through informed provider decisions about prescription drug coverage and prices for their Blue Shield patients.
As part of its Pharmacy Care Reimagined initiative, Blue Shield announced a first-of-its-kind pharmacy management model in 2023, focused on medication cost transparency. This new model successfully went live on January 1 of this year and is already providing members with more transparent and sustainably affordable prescription drug services.
The Price Check My Rx real-time alert feature is available to members who have the Blue Shield of California mobile app downloaded and push notifications turned on. Physicians in Blue Shield’s network have access to the same information which prompts them to choose a lower-cost alternative when prescribing medications for their patients.
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