A total of 59.9% of employers offer a specialty pharmacy benefit. There appears to be a decline in the number of employers permitting the dispensing of specialty drugs at retail pharmacies as shown in Table 8. Large employers and payers with access to clinical resources are working to actively manage specialty pharmacy.

There is 70.9% of carve-out employers offering a specialty pharmacy benefit compared to only 41.6% of carve-in employers. This is a significant difference at the 95% level. Carve-out employers are significantly more likely to 1) use their PBMs as exclusive suppliers of specialty drugs, and 2) restrict coverage in medical plan to channel specialty drugs to their PBMs.

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