UnitedHealth Will Reimburse Pharmacies More for Brand-Name Drugs

UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s drug-benefits unit is starting to reimburse pharmacies more for dispensing brand-name medicines to address longstanding complaints that expensive prescriptions are losing money for drugstores.

Pharmacy benefit managers have traditionally compensated pharmacists more for cheaper generic medicines to encourage their use, said Patrick Conway, chief executive officer of UnitedHealth’s Optum Rx unit. But generic adoption has plateaued, and Conway said the old system discouraged some pharmacies from stocking newer branded drugs like diabetes and weight-loss shots.

“We want them to stock the drugs because we want people to be able to get the drugs wherever they ...