The topic of formulary selection and the impact it can have on consumers has been in the spotlight for some time. One of the more notable reasons for this attention has been the pricing of these drugs and the lack of proper control that exists to regulate the escalating prices.

But retail pharmacies are taking steps to fight back.

According to a recent report from the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, total spending for medicine in the U.S. reached $310 billion in 2015, which was up 8.5 percent from the previous year. The concern is that drug prices will continue to rise unless action is taken to address them.

Pharmaceutical companies have raised the prices on brand name drugs by double-digits percentage since the beginning of 2016. The advent of brand name and specialty drugs has led to high drug prices being incurred by consumers who may require these life-sustaining medications. EpiPen and Daraprim are two of the most infamous examples of skyrocketing costs.

While there have been discussions to curtail the prices of these medications, many consumers have not felt the impact of these discussions.

However, Express Scripts and CVS Health (two major drug-benefit managers) made recent announcements that bring some degree of hope for some consumers and pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs). The two companies indicate that their 2017 formularies will seek to remove many blockbuster drugs and provide lower cost drug options to select from, particularly for consumers that take many of the maintenance medications.

Some of the drugs that are expected to be excluded from Express Scripts' formulary list will include brand name drugs such as Orencia and Zyclara. Similarly, CVS Health will remove drugs that are along the same lines and seek to control the costs of some of the higher priced drugs.

The intended goal of both companies is to take a position against escalating drug costs — which are ultimately felt by their clients and their members — in favor of more cost-effective treatment options. The removal and at times replacement of some of the more expensive drugs within specific drug categories is intended to allow for increased accessibility of these drugs, and ultimately consumers will reap the benefits.

Express Scripts and CVS Health hope to see significant savings as a result of these formulary revisions. Other PBMs may decide to jump on the bandwagon and adopt the practice of removing higher cost drugs from their formularies, but only time will tell.

While it may take some time for these changes to be seen, it is hoped that once they are embraced, there will better control over drug pricing for many more years to come.