Company focuses on saving money on drug prices

Navitus Health Solutions was founded to bring some clarity to the murky world of drug pricing.

That has enabled the Madison company to save employers hundreds of millions of dollars on prescription drugs.

That has been the easy part. The hard part has been persuading other prospective customers that Navitus can do the same for them.

"It's a constant challenge," said Terry Seligman, the company's president.

Navitus' business model hasn't lessened that challenge.

From its start in 2002, the company has charged employers and health plans a simple administrative fee for managing their prescription drug benefits - and nothing else.

It rejects the hidden markups on drugs and the side deals with drug companies that have accounted for a chunk of the profits of its much larger rivals.