The mail-service dispensing fees in Table 40 show an anomaly with the average of $3.19 significantly higher in 2009 and reflecting a steady increase since 2007. A majority (87%) of employers do not have mail-service dispensing fees; thus the small number of observations make the findings directional in nature. As a result, mail-service reimbursement data are divided into two groups: employers with dispensing fees and employers with no dispensing fees as detailed in Table 41. The AWP discounts for employers with no dispensing fees are more reflective of today’s competitive reimbursement for mail than the overall average for all employers in Table 40. Averages are provided for trending purposes.

The steady erosion of pharmacy reimbursement, particularly for mail-service, continues its 10-plus year trend. A total of 34.8% of responding employers said they did not know their pharmacy reimbursement rates with 52.7% unable to provide reimbursement data because of contractual obligations to their pharmacy benefit managers. Understanding how much pharmacies are paid for each prescription is a critical step in drug cost management.

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