Experiments under way

As the burden of increasing drug expenditures becomes more acute, payers and physician groups are not waiting for drug companies to offer new pricing solutions based on value for money. Instead, they are starting to devise their own definitions of value. Two experiments have begun that will help determine the prices plans are willing to pay for cancer drugs.

Express Scripts Holding Co. is working with drug manufacturers to choose cancer dugs to include in a pilot that will see the pharmacy benefits manager pay more for a drug in the indications where it works best, and less for the same drug in indications where it does not provide as much benefit...