Under a “white bagging” arrangement, a patient’s health plan requires the prescribed medication to be purchased through the plan’s exclusive specialty pharmacy and then it is shipped to the patient’s physician’s office for administration to that specific patient.

Today, treatment for complex medical conditions like cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune conditions, allergies, and eye diseases is highly personalized and tailored towards each individual patient.

Over the past few years, the nation’s largest health insurers and pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) have consolidated and now just a few entities dominate the health care marketplace. Health plans and PBMs now own and operate their own specialty pharmacy and are beginning to force their members to obtain their physician-administered and infused drugs only through the pharmacy they own, instead of through the patient’s physician office or hospital facility. This process is known as “white bagging.”

P+P United is committed to preventing 3rd party interference with patient care and preserving personalized treatment.

• Delays Treatment – A patient must wait until the drug is shipped from the health plan’s specialty pharmacy to a physician’s office or infusion clinic. Day-of-dose adjustments are not possible. Delivery issues, damage and mishandling of the drug during shipping or administrative hurdles can delay care by days or even weeks. Delays may cause disease progression.
• Creates Drug Waste – If a patient requires day-of dose adjustments because they have lost/gained weight, developed different symptoms or can no longer tolerate a particular medication, unopened and unused medications from a specialty pharmacy cannot be stored on-site and administered to another patient.
• Threatens Supply Chain Integrity – Patients could be at risk for mishandled, contaminated or counterfeit products.
• Increases Out-of-Pocket Costs – When an insurer mandates white bagging, the treatment is typically switched from the patient’s medical benefit to his/her pharmacy benefit, which often has higher cost-sharing responsibilities.

• Increase Costs to Practices – White bagging makes it more expensive for practices and infusion clinics to provide care by requiring extra storage and labor and increasing liability. At the same time, it decreases payment from the insurance company to the provider for the same amount of care. Increasing operational and administrative burdens on providers diverts resources from direct patient care.