"Ripping Up the Playbook on Drug Pricing": Pharmacy Care Reimagined

Overview

What is Pharmacy Care Reimagined?

Today’s pharmacy system is broken. Costs are skyrocketing and the entire ecosystem is unnecessarily complex and opaque. These systemic issues result in disjointed and time-consuming member experiences with complicated hand-offs between different supply chain stakeholders. Pharmacy Care Reimagined is Blue Shield of California’s bold initiative to ensure every person has safe, equitable access to sustainably affordable prescription drugs. To achieve this, we are focusing on four pillars:

Transforming the end-to-end prescription drug ecosystem
Investing in personal, high-quality experiences
Building powerful solutions with technology and data, like Price Check My Rx
Supporting the development of biosimilar and generic versions of high-cost drugs, like Humira

Why are we tackling this?

Blue Shield of California and our Family of Companies are taking this on because there is a patient behind every prescription. True to our Blue Shield vision and north star, our goal is to create a pharmacy care experience that is worthy of our family and friends and sustainably affordable. Pharmacy Care Reimagined brings a more human and transparent approach to care and value for our members. It’s what we stand for.

Fast Facts: Pharmacy Drug Affordability

Most American adults take at least one prescription drug annually, with more than a third of adults taking at least three medications per year.
In 2021, the American healthcare system spent more than $600 billion on prescription drugs – about $1,500 per person, per year.
Once Blue Shield’s multi-year strategy is fully implemented, the health plan expects to save up to $500 million in annual drug costs.
Blue Shield of California is building a first-of-its-kind pharmacy care model that is simple, accessible and sustainably affordable for everyone.

News Coverage

The High Cost of Sidelining Biosimilars: Why Rebates are Draining Your Health Plan (3/9/26)

Op-ed: Pharmacy Access is Shrinking. Here Are 3 Ways to Restore It (12/12/25)

Blue Shield Of California Push For Cheaper Biosimilars Could Disrupt Market (11/06/24)

A Free Drug Experiment Bypasses the US Health System’s Secret Fees (10/1/24)

Why Transparency Matters: Helping Brokers Understand Drug Pricing (2/22/24)

The Opaque Industry Secretly Inflating Prices for Prescription Drugs (6/21/24)

Fighting Through A Forest Of Opacity: Overhauling The Prescription Drug Industry (11/20/23)

A Big Health Insurer Is Ripping Up the Playbook on Drug Pricing (8/17/23)

Video Assets

Prescription Drug Pricing: The Year Ahead (Blue Shield of California)
Biosimilars, Explained (Blue Shield of California)
Pharmacy Care Reimagined – Fully Explained (Blue Shield of California)
Blue Shield's online tool helps find lower prescription costs (Blue Shield of California)
Prescription Drug Benefits 101 (Blue Shield of California)

Additional Resources

Collaborators

Contact

Media Inquiries

media@blueshieldca.com

(510) 607-2359