Kevin Knauss: Health, History, Travel, Insurance
With only one manufacturer of the Shingles Vaccine, Zostavax from Merck, there are no generic prices on the market. The retail price for Zostavax at the local pharmacies I surveyed is fairly consistent across the board. Lower prices can be found under different Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans, but even with insurance, there can be a spread of $115 to $170 difference in the cost.
CMS cited numerous failures on the part of SmartD Rx to properly handle member’s prescription drug and enrollment transactions.
The larger point of Anthem’s discussion is that rising health care costs have several roots. There is no one culprit that is driving costs.
On January 15th, Medicare imposed an immediate sanction on SilverScripts Part D Prescription drug plans, available through CVS/Caremark, from marketing or selling any new drug plans because of massive failures to properly handle prescription drug claims of new members.
