6 ways to supercharge your PBM search
By: Prescryptive Health
With the 2026 RFP season in full swing, now is the perfect time to reflect on the impact and effectiveness of your current pharmacy benefits manager (PBM). Are you ready for an upgrade?
If you’re unhappy with your current PBM, you’re not alone. A recent report showed overall PBM satisfaction at its lowest point since 2014. And the likelihood to renew continued a downward trend that began in 2021.1
If you decide it’s time for a change, there are ways to ratchet up the RFP process and find the PBM you deserve. Whether you’re managing the process on your own or working with a broker/consultant, taking time to map out your must-haves will help you find a partner you can trust.
Time to search for a new PBM? Put these six tips in your RFP toolbox:
1. Define your goals
Clearly understanding your goals up front and confirming potential PBMs are aligned to those goals allows candidates to differentiate themselves and helps you narrow down your choices.
2. Push for transparency
Transparency builds trust, right from the start. Ask questions about pricing, rebates, and lower-cost alternatives. Knowing more up front can lead to bigger savings down the road.
3. Demand data ownership
Your data is yours, and the insights it provides can have major impacts. Make it clear that you own your data and your PBM must produce it upon demand at no cost.
4. Expect empowerment
A pharmacy benefit solution should not only save your business money, it should also empower your employees and help them make informed decisions about their prescriptions. It all starts with a digital prescription on their phone, providing prescription portability at the point of care.
5. Get more
All PBMs provide the same core functions, but many charge for every service, program, and report. To get the most for your money, look for a PBM willing to go above and beyond at no extra cost.
6. Go beyond the “Big 3“
Finding a smaller player doesn’t mean you have to make sacrifices. For better pricing, dedicated customer service, and more flexibility, it pays to extend your search beyond the big brands you already know about.
Member empowerment for today’s pharmacy landscape
Prescryptive’s member empowerment platform, myPrescryptive, can seamlessly plug into many innovative strategies and tactics for pharmacy benefits. Through secure text messages at the point of care, members will understand their prescription drug costs, insurance coverage, payment options, lower-cost alternatives, filling pharmacy, and more. Powered by digital prescriptions, the myPrescryptive experience provides many of the transparent features that employers and their members are looking for right now. Interested to learn more? Reach out.
1 Pharmaceutical Strategies Group (PSG) 2023 Pharmacy Benefit Manager Customer Satisfaction Report