IAnthem said its new pharmacy benefit management company is landing new clients outside of just the health plans it owns and its rollout is ahead of expectations.
Anthem, which is an operator of Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plans in 14 states, is rolling out its own new PBM, IngenioRx, after ending a longtime relationship with Cigna’s Express Scripts PBM.
“We began successfully migrating members to IngenioRx on May 1 and have received transition approvals from all of our 14 Blue states and the majority of our Medicaid states,” Anthem chief executive officer Gail Boudreaux told analysts Wednesday morning during the company’s 70-minute second-quarter earnings call. “We are tracking ahead of expectations, and as a result, we now expect IngenioRx to achieve the upper end of our $0.70 – $0.90 guidance.”
PBMs are considered middlemen between drug companies and consumers when it comes to purchasing prescription medicines. But the PBM’s role has been under fire in recent years as the public, taxpayers and Congress question whether they are passing along as much savings as they should to health plan enrollees.
Anthem has vowed more transparency and savings by owning its own PBM.
In addition to the PBM business Anthem is transitioning from Express Scripts, IngenioRx is also landing new business. Boudreaux said announced the first “external pharmacy contract” landed by IngenioxRx in Blue Cross of Idaho, which will begin Jan. 1, 2020.
Over time, Anthem expects the PBM to generate more profits and cost savings by having it in-house while having the ability to offer health plan clients a benefit package that melds medical coverage with prescription benefits.
Date: July 25, 2019
Source: Forbes