Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.’s MMC sub-unit from the Consulting segment, Mercer, recently introduced Mercer SelectRx in a bid to generate higher savings on specialty drug expenses for employers and their employees.

The new product leverages the proprietary and cloud-based technology platform of Free Market Health and is also built with the power to offer transparency on specialty pharmacy pricing. Specialty prescriptions are directed to the platform consequent to which a comparison is made among an organized network of specialty pharmacies and the one quoting the lowest price on the approved specialty medication is selected.

The chosen specialty pharmacy can then deliver the medicine to employees on time. Also, the newly launched solution sincerely monitors the fulfillment of each specialty claim devoid of any interruption to the existing patient experience and also leads to a decline in the need to waive any prescribed medicine. 

The ulterior motive behind the latest move remains to increase access to enhanced pharmaceutical care and infuse greater affordability within expensive prescription medications. This, in turn, is expected to provide a greater peace of mind to employers and their employees.

Cost savings will differ according to employer and prescribed medication but availing Mercer SelectRx can drive savings of up to 10% on specialty drug spending.  In addition to this, the new solution also widens employees’ access to the network of quality specialty pharmacies.

The recent product launch seems to be a time opportune one, as substantiated by Mercer’s 2023 National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans. For quite a few years, prescription medication costs remain the fastest-growing component in employee health benefit expenses and specialty drugs alone have risen by more than 10% in 2023. As 50 new specialty drugs are anticipated to make their entry into the market every year, the need to control drug costs and manage specialty pharmacy spending appears to be the need of the hour.

As the goal of Mercer remains to provide advice, solutions and products that cater to the health, wealth and career needs of an evolving workforce, rolling out solutions like Mercer SelectRx is expected to drive revenues of the sub-unit. Mercer’s revenues rose 5% year over year in 2023 and also made up for around 24% of Marsh & McLennan’s consolidated revenues last year.

Such initiatives bear testament to the active growth strategy followed by MMC within its different operating units. These efforts have enabled Marsh & McLennan to delve into new geographies, expand within the existing locations, foray into new businesses and specialize within its current businesses.