BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee announced a new partnership with Medco Health Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MHS) on Thursday to provide pharmacy benefits to the insurer’s health plan members.
The contract begins Jan. 1, 2013, and applies to all BlueCross members who carry pharmacy benefits through the insurer.
The three-year contract will bring an increased focus on technology and quality, in addition to an effort to control the rate of medical cost increase for BlueCross and its customers.
“This new partnership is about delivering on our corporate strategy to provide the best medical value possible to our members,” said Elaine Manieri, vice president of pharmacy for BlueCross. “Medco not only provided the best overall value, but also demonstrated the best technology and system capabilities to serve our accounts and their employees.”
According to Manieri, BlueCross and Medco are committed to doing as much as possible to ensure an easy transition for members, with the goal of no service disruptions.
“We focused on working with Medco to deliver a better product for our members from the very beginning of the relationship,” Ms. Manieri said. “The enhancements in our new agreement include many value-generating opportunities including passing on savings obtained from new network pricing and enhanced rebate levels to our customers.
In addition, there will be automatic transitioning of open mail order refills from Caremark to Medco.”
“Medco looks forward to providing access to high-quality, affordable drug benefits with world-class service to all BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee members. Our specialized care settings will create value clinically and financially,” said Glenn Taylor, Medco’s group president, Health Plans.
The Medco pharmacy network contains over 1,600 pharmacies in Tennessee, including a broad network of pharmacies across the country. BlueCross members should not experience any service disruptions and their pharmacy benefits will continue uninterrupted. However, beginning Jan. 1, 2013, members should check to ensure their preferred pharmacy is in the Medco network.