(Reuters) -Cigna Group said on Monday it will eliminate prescription drug rebates in many of its commercial health plans in 2027.
The move aims to lower costs for patients at the pharmacy counter with up-front discounts rather than rebates collected from drugmakers long after a medication is dispensed.
Cigna will expand the rebate-free model to clients of its pharmacy benefits business starting in 2028.
Drugmakers pay rebates to pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, after a prescription is filled, typically in exchange for favorable placement on the health plan’s list of covered drugs.
Cigna’s Express Scripts, CVS Health’s Caremark unit and UnitedHealth Group Optum Rx are the three biggest PBMs, which act as middlemen between drug companies and consumers.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
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