MEMPHIS -- Companies will soon have access to medications at cost for employees on their health plans, thanks to a new venture by Phil Baker, PharmD, a Memphis-based entrepreneur. Baker's newest venture, HaloScrips, has secured a private investment of $480,000 from the Christian Capital Network, a voluntary network of Christian business owners, entrepreneurs and investors.
Prescription drug spending represents health plans' third-largest health care expense, behind only hospital care and physician services. And although the national average puts drug spending at about 10 percent of health care costs, the share is much higher - 20 to 25 percent - for working-age adults with low rates of hospitalization. While this leads many organizations to adjust coverage to incentivize less prescription use, that trend hurts patients most in need of regular medications. HaloScrips aims to change that. This investment will jump-start the company by allowing it to expand its licensed mail-order pharmacy services nationwide through pharmacy automation.
Baker's experience also played a role in the investors' decision. HaloScrips marks his fourth health care venture. Along with partner Ayile' Arnett, Baker is also behind the nonprofit Good Shepherd Pharmacy; the blockchain company RemediChain, which runs a national oral chemotherapy reclamation program and heads a consortium of organizations working to track surplus medication; and GoodWheel, a blockchain app that pairs volunteer drivers with charities in need of deliveries and which started by delivering prescriptions for Good Shepherd Pharmacy. Baker and Arnett were named one of Inside Memphis Business' Innovators of the Year in 2019.
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