CVS Health has launched a new platform that will allow its pharmacy benefit management clients to more effectively manage contracts for wellness services and other supplemental benefits.
The platform, called Vendor Benefit Management, is aimed at streamlining the administrative processes required for health plans and employers to offer a suite of wellness options to plan members, CVS said in an announcement.
CVS Caremark clients will have access to data on negotiated prices, simpler billing and real-time eligibility verification on the platform, according to the announcement.
“We asked our clients what they needed and are now proudly easing their administrative burden so their members can more quickly and easily access these solutions that are growing in availability and importance,” Derica Rice, president of CVS Caremark, said in a statement.
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“Our new proprietary service enables us to leverage the sophisticated infrastructure, technologies and processes we have honed as a leading PBM to further benefit our clients and members,” Rice added.
The first company to partner with CVS on the platform is Big Health, which offers Sleepio, a digital tool aimed at improving sleep. Sleepio uses cognitive behavioral therapy to offer an individualized program to help people sleep better, according to the announcement.
Improved sleep is linked to better mental health and better job performance, according to the announcement.
CVS officials said they are “actively working to identify and onboard” other companies offering wellness tools for the platform. Future participants could offer programs like smoking cessation, substance abuse treatment, medication optimization and health plan literacy, according to the announcement.
Though some recent research has called the effectiveness of wellness programs into question, employers are committed to offering such services—and employees want those benefits.
Government payers have also turned their focus to supplemental benefits. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is allowing Medicare Advantage plans to offer these tools to their members, for example.