Coventry taps Medco as PBM starting 2009

FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J. Medco Health Solutions announced Monday that it would be providing Medicare pharmacy services for Bethesda, Md.-based Coventry Health Care, a national healthcare company.

“Coventry viewed our Medco Therapeutic Resource Centers as an important advantage for its members,” chairman and chief executive officer David Snow Jr. said. “Our specialist pharmacists help patients manage chronic conditions with a higher level of personalized care. The breadth of our service offerings and our capabilities to meet the needs of Medicare beneficiaries, while making overall health care costs more manageable, truly resonates with clients.”

Medco will be providing Coventry’s Medicare members with mail, retail and specialty pharmacy services starting Jan. 1, 2009. The approximately 1 million members enrolled represent an annual drug spend of more than $2 billion, Medco reported.

Medco last year introduced the Medco Therapeutic Resource Centers, at which more than 1,100 specialist pharmacists are trained and uniquely experienced to care for patients with specific chronic conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, asthma and neurological disorders. Specialist pharmacists counsel patients about medication safety, minimizing side effects, improving drug compliance, and helping them find the lowest cost alternatives for their medications.

Medco is one of the top three pharmacy benefits managers in the U.S., along with CVS Caremark and Express Scripts. Details of the deal were not made public.