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News
Your source on union-negotiated health care
benefits
State gets ok to change drug plan; Ohio to join
multi-state drug coalition
April 8, 2004 -
The Controlling Board, on March 22, approved the Joint Health Care Committee's
(JHCC) recommendation to contract with a new pharmacy benefit manager
and to award that contract to Express Scripts Inc. The State will changeover
from Medco to ESI on July 1.
This changeover was the last component in the State’s
pursuit to become part of a multi-state drug coalition, known as Rx Issuing
States. Ohio will join forces with Delaware, Missouri, New Mexico and
West Virginia to use their cooperative muscle to explore all viable options
to lowering drug costs. Ohio brings 109,000 covered employees and dependents
to the coalition, making the total number of people represented 679,000.
The Controlling Board approved the ESI contract for
one year. As a result, the JHCC will begin work on the PBM re-bidding
process for the 2005 benefits year as earlier as this fall.
It is estimated that Ohio’s involvement in the
coalition will reduce the drug costs for Ohio’s 42,000 state employees
by $5 million a year.
Members should feel little to no impact as the result
of the changeover, says Marianne Steger, OCSEA Director of Health Care
Policy and Human Resources.
“Nearly 100 percent of the retail pharmacists
are identical to the current plan, so very few people will have to switch
retail pharmacists,” said Steger. “All mail order prescriptions
members have with Medco will automatically be transferred to ESI.”
Steger said the savings should lessen the need for
future premium increases.
Over the next few weeks, members should receive welcome
packets from ESI with more information.
See Related
Q & A: Changes
to the mail-in pharmacy benefit for Ohio Med enrollees
Effective July 1, 2004
State to carve out
drugs to Express Scripts, leaving Medco July 1, 2004; Change impacts
Ohio Med PPO enrollees
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