February 2013
2 posts
Truveris Talks Pharmacy Benefit Management with...
As recently reported, Lazard Capital Markets named Truveris one of the Most Disruptive companies in Managed Care and Healthcare IT in 2013. Disruption seems to be the theme of the year.
Truveris’ A.J. Loiacono recently sat down with Carol Harnett of Human Resource Executive (HRE) to discuss the future of pharmacy benefit management. With the industry expanding to include new processes and...
Truveris Named One of the Most Disruptive...
According to Lazard Capital Markets’ latest report from its Equity Research Department, “What’s Next: It’s Private,” Truveris is one of 2013’s most disruptive private companies in Managed Care and Healthcare IT. The report is based on analysis of products or services currently “offered by private companies in the industries they cover,” taking into account the implications within their respective...
January 2013
2 posts
Truveris Partners with IBX, Will Participate in...
Truveris has entered into a new partnership with IBX (www.ibxonline.biz), the firm that pioneered the online RFP process for group insurance contracts. Through this collaboration, IBX will add pharmacy benefits bidding and selection services to its existing IBX Advisor Network by utilizing two of the services in Truveris’ product suite: TruBid and TruGuard.
Following the announcement of this...
Healthcare Technology in 2013: Embrace Change
Earlier this week, Athenahealth, an electronic health record (EHR) vendor, announced that it is acquiring Epocrates, a networking platform for physicians that allows doctors to access clinical information on mobile devices. According to Forbes, more than 340,000 physicians use Epocrates primarily as a drug reference tool, but the company has reported financial losses two years in a row due to...
December 2012
1 post
Reaching Your Target Healthcare Audience in 2013
Truveris recently attended the Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Society (HPRMS) of Greater New York’s event “Reaching Your Target Audience in 2013,” held at the United Hospital Fund (UHF). Speakers Bob de Luna (UHF) and Chip Garner (Rubenstein Communications) discussed paid and earned media practices within the healthcare industry, covering everything from social media tactics, to how to...
November 2012
3 posts
Truveris Goes To IFEBP 2012
This year, the Truveris team attended the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans (IFEBP) 58thAnnual Employee Benefits Conference in San Diego, CA (November 11-14). In addition to manning a booth on the Conference floor (see picture), Truveris’ Michael Jacobs, R.Ph., also led a roundtable focused on “Managing Biotech and Specialty Drugs.” As a direct participant in this year’s...
Truveris Update Following Hurricane Sandy
If you are located in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy, we hope you and your loved ones are safe and without worry. We know that it is critical to you that our services are available at all times. Our cloud-based infrastructure is working without interruption, and our disaster recovery plans never needed to be employed. We continue to process claims and all reporting, and our full breadth of...
Join the Truveris Pharmacy Benefits Compliance...
As announced previously, Truveris is launching a new webinar series centered on Medicare validation and mitigating fiduciary liability to governmental payors. The series, titled “Managed Pharmacy Benefits Compliance: Applying Technology to Ease the Burden,” will kick off on Thursday, November 8, from 1:00 to 2:00 PM EST, with a segment about Prescription Drug Event (PDE) Reporting.
Kathryn...
October 2012
2 posts
Truveris To Launch Pharmacy Compliance Webinar...
With all governmental programs requiring oversight and reporting systems, one can only imagine how concerned companies are with their reporting compliance. Pharmacy Drug Event (PDE) reporting for Pharmacy Drug Programs (PDPs), in particular, can be especially worrisome when it comes to validating reporting accuracy. Any errors in reporting can be prosecuted under the False Claims Act, with recent...
Truveris Takes on Health 2.0 in San Francisco
Health 2.0 is one of the health information technology industry’s most important supporters. The organization “promotes, showcases and catalyzes new technologies in health care…through a worldwide series of conferences, code-a-thons, prize challenges, and more.” Health 2.0 also boasts the “leading market intelligence on new health technology companies.”
Since you’re only as good as the company...
September 2012
1 post
Truveris Moves To 475 Park Avenue South
In 2009, A.J. Loiacono (EVP of Sales and Marketing), Leon Greene (EVP of Operations) and Tom Staloch (VP of Product Development) founded Truveris by what they describe as a “fortunate accident.” During its first year of business, Truveris validated nearly 250,000 prescription claims. In its second year, that number grew to 10 million claims. This year, Truveris will analyze 300 million claims....
August 2012
1 post
Truveris' Michael Jacobs Talks "Redesigning...
In its August issue, Employee Benefit Adviser features Truveris’ Michael Jacobs in a cover story discussing value-based benefits design.
From the article:
Jacobs is unique in this field, says Cyndy Nayer, president and CEO of the Saint Louis-based Center for Health Value Innovation. “[He’s a] diligent and accomplished analyst, [who] provides consistent improvement in health...
July 2012
1 post
TRUVERIS EXPANDS EXECUTIVE TEAM WITH SENIOR NEW...
Andrew Munroe joins as Vice President, Legal and Compliance
NEW YORK—July 24, 2012—Truveris (www.truveris.com), a health information technology company that has created the industry’s first truly automated RFP platform and reporting suite to help clients and health care advisors manage the prescription claims process, today announced that it has hired Andrew Munroe as Vice President of Legal...
May 2012
1 post
6 tags
Michael Jacobs, R.Ph., Joins Truveris Inc.,...
NEW YORK – MAY 16, 2012 – In its continued quest to bring software-based technology solutions to the pharmacy benefits industry, Truveris, Inc. welcomes Michael Jacobs, R.Ph., as Vice President of National Accounts. Jacobs brings over 30 years of expertise in the pharmacy and health care field to the Truveris Sales and Marketing Team. Bryan Birch, Truveris Chairman, President, and CEO...
February 2012
2 posts
9 tags
Truveris Announces $10MM Series B Funding
I’m proud to announce today that Truveris has closed a $10MM Series B round of funding led by New Leaf Venture Partners and joined by Tribeca Venture Partners, New Atlantic Ventures, and First Round Capital.
Truveris is growing quickly and we’ll be using the new funds to expand our ever growing line of software products. Our technology is altering the way that pharmacy benefits are being sold and...
7 tags
Truveris at UBS Global Healthcare Conference
Today I had the opportunity to speak at the UBS 22nd Annual Global Healthcare Services Conference held in New York. The conference itself featured many thought leaders across many healthcare related industries as well as various media concerns.
I discussed Truveris, our mission, our services, and, in particular, two products – TruBid and TruGuard. TruBid manages pharmacy RFPs from bidding to...
January 2012
1 post
Introducing TruBid by Truveris
Revolutionize your pharmacy RFP.
We’re excited to announce the launch of TruBid, a Web-based software tool that helps health insurance companies and self-insured organizations negotiate and enforce more favorable contract terms with their Prescription Benefit Managers (PBMs). TruBid is the latest addition to the Truveris product suite which can save customers up to 12 percent annually on...
December 2011
2 posts
Truveris Expands Leadership with Additions to the...
Truveris is excited to announce the additions of Dr. Jan Berger and David Smith to our advisory board today. As the company continues to scale and fulfill on its mission to transform the pharmacy benefits industry, it needs leaders who can help shape its growth trajectory.
Dr. Jan Berger brings 25 years of PBM experience and was a former Senior Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer for...
The Lipitor Pricing Conundrum
The much anticipated launch of the generic version of Lipitor is highlighting the pricing conundrum of the generic exclusivity period where often a new-to-market generic is more expensive than the brand version net of rebate. With generic Lipitor being more expensive than the brand, payers are contemplating encouraging the brand but wondering if this is a “penny wise and pound foolish” strategy....
November 2011
1 post
The Truveris Goal
Our goal at Truveris is to ensure claims accuracy for our clients and their members. We want to work with PBMs and reach a state with minimal to no errors on a bi-weekly basis. Lately, we have had some wonderful success with PBMs supporting our clients’ wishes to review their bill prior to payment. These PBMs are realizing that the plan integrity aspect of our program is resonating with many...
October 2011
9 posts
Thoughts from Bryan Birch
In my first few weeks at Truveris as Chairman, President, and CEO, I’ve come to personally experience the great momentum that the company has. We’re tackling a $300 billion market opportunity and finally bringing transparency to the PBM industry. Better yet, we are creating new products and offerings that use our unique, high performing assets. After having spent many years in the health...
TIPPS and AAIC Reporting: When Cost is Not Really...
Since 2006, the HR Policy Association has certified Pharmacy Benefit Managers (“PBMs”) according to their willingness to be open about their financial performance. This certification, called the Transparency in Pharmaceutical Purchasing Solutions or TIPPSTM allows PBMs to say that they are transparent with their pricing and profit calculations. Presumably, this means they are not making money...
Truveris Welcomes Bryan Birch as Chairman,...
I’m proud to announce today that PBM and healthcare industry veteran Bryan Birch is joining as the Chairman, President, and CEO of Truveris.
We unveiled the news during our presentation today at the New York Capital Association’s Ingenuity Conference, which brings together entrepreneurs that have caught the eye of respected investors, media, and major players in the New York...
First Databank, Medispan, and Average Wholesale...
On September 27, 2011, First Databank stopped publishing Average Wholesale Prices. This is a result of the lawsuit they lost in 2009, where they were found to have colluded with McKesson to inflate AWPs to the benefit of pharmacies and PBMs and the detriment of health plans. Most PBMs have switched to Medispan as their pricing catalog, since Medispan has committed to publishing AWPs until the...
When Does Price Equity Not Equal 100%? AWP...
When McKesson and First Databank (“FDB”) settled their lawsuit about improper AWP calculations with the FTC in 2009, FDB announced that they would stop publishing Average Wholesale Prices (“AWPs”) in September 2011. While many people didn’t think it would happen, FDB is indeed stopping on September 28th. That will leave AWPs solely in the hands of Medi-Span, who has stated that they will...
Zero-Balance Claims: The New Cost-Shift Strategy
Truveris has noticed a trend in the market regarding zero-balance claims. Also called zero-balance due (“ZBD”) claims, these are situations where the prescription price is less than the participant’s copayment. For example, say you get a prescription for amoxicillin 250mg for a simple infection. The 30 capsules would be paid at a MAC price of about $0.20 per capsule, or about $6.00 total. Your...
Would you pay your credit card bill before...
Imagine receiving your credit card bill every month, and the only information you’re provided is an amount due and a “pay by” date of 48 hours from now. The amount due doesn’t look too far off from what it was on your last statement, so you shrug and just pay your bill – you can trust your credit card company, right? Let’s say you realize one month that you should be responsible and decide to...
The Undeniable Right (and Responsibility!) to...
Health plan sponsors have the fiduciary responsibility to ensure that their plan members are not being overcharged for prescription benefits. This is a constant and perpetual responsibility since each invoice that comes from the PBM is vulnerable to inaccuracies given the complex contracts that exist between PBMs and payers. While some sponsors may conduct yearly retrospective audits, the real...
Transparency versus Opacity in Pharmacy Benefit...
Transparency. This has been the big buzzword in PBM programs over the past 5 years or so. At its core, transparency is supposed to mean, for prescription claims, that health plan sponsors only pay to the PBM what the PBM pays to the pharmacies. No more, no less. Transparency also means that 100% of rebates and other fees received by PBMs from manufacturers get passed back to the health plan...
