Contact: 920-230-6200
Oshkosh, WI – BidRx, developer of an online, competitive marketplace for
prescription medication, has the solution for ever-rising drug prices: a consumer driven
alternative to the current system which relies heavily on Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs).
BidRx.com was introduced by Drs. Ralph Kalies and Tom Kellenberger, both healthcare industry
veterans and pharmacists. Their mission is to connect consumers, advocates, prescribers, and
benefit sponsors with pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies through a unified, interoperable
system.
A recent Congressional Hearing highlighted the flaws in the PBM model which is “contributing
to soaring drug prices and trampling independent pharmacies.” The lawmakers “singled out the
three major players – Express Scripts Holding Co., CVS Health Corp, and UnitedHealth Group
Inc.’s OptumRx division – for wielding too much power.”
PBMs contribute to rising drug prices by limiting open, transparent, and level competition among
drug manufacturers. Some products & manufacturers are excluded as leverage for
discounts/rebates that aren’t always passed on to customers. Furthermore, exclusive contracts
that last for years interfere with competitive, price-lowering forces that naturally would occur.
BidRx guarantees competition among FDA approved similar medications from all drug
manufacturers. Similar drug products, forms and strengths are made available on the site so the
health care team can evaluate and choose the best medication for each patient. Manufacturers can
show discounts/rebates (coupons) transparently and change prices to better compete in a dynamic
marketplace.
Only at www.BidRx.com does head-to-head, dynamic competition among manufacturers allow
the health care team and consumers to compare current costs and value at the precise time when
appropriate treatments are required to produce desired outcomes.
“BidRx® is the solution for an antiquated PBM purchasing paradigm that has contributed to
unsustainable increases in cost,” said Dr. Kalies, CEO of BidRx “Competition thrives on our
website and, as a result, benefit sponsors and consumers save money through our dynamic,
electronic marketplace using consumer driven pricing. Consumers and their doctors can shop and compare similar medications from competing manufacturers and get instant bids from local and
mail order pharmacies before they buy.”
PBMs also trample independent pharmacies by limiting open, transparent and level competition
among them for prescription fulfillment and accompanying services like delivery and counseling.
Requiring only one pharmacy (often the PBM-owned or contracted mail-order pharmacy) for
fulfillment of maintenance prescriptions when prices are hidden can lead to price-gouging.
“Only at BidRx does head-to-head competition among pharmacies for all prescriptions in a
dynamic and transparent electronic marketplace allow consumers to compare services, costs and
value at just the right time for choosing the preferred pharmacy,” said Dr. Kellenberger.
By employing the power of dynamic and transparent competition, BidRx enables all participants
to make better decisions on prescription purchases, leading to improved health outcomes and
lower costs over time.
“We’re finding many advantages for employers and Medicare Part D subscribers as well” adds
Kalies. “We have trained hundreds of employer groups to use transparency for improved benefit
design and competition to lower drug costs. And we built user-friendly options and toll-free
phone assistance for those individuals that may struggle with Internet technology. If you can use
a telephone, you can use BidRx.com.”
Dr. Kellenberger adds, “Like Amazon.com, PriceLine.com, Expedia.com, Zillow.com and many
other valuable websites for consumers, BidRx.com engages the drug industry in dynamic
competition that promotes service differentiation and lowers prescription prices today and for
years to come.”
For more information, visit www.BidRx.com or contact BidRx® at 920-230-6200.
