Sixth consecutive endorsement highlights Taft-Hartley trusts’ interest in offering high quality, low-cost pharmacy benefits to its union members
Irvine, Calif. – February 23, 2009 – Prescription Solutions, a pharmacy benefits management (PBM) company and a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) organization, announced today that it has been endorsed by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) for the sixth consecutive year as the preferred PBM for all of its affiliated health and welfare plans. The IBT promotes group purchasing of PBM services for Teamster Health and Welfare Funds through its TeamsteRx program, a nationwide prescription drug coalition.
James P. Hoffa, general president of the IBT, said, “We have enjoyed outstanding results from Prescription Solutions going on six years in managing pharmacy costs and ensuring high quality pharmacy benefits and superior service for our members. Prescription Solutions remains as one of the best PBMs in the nation, committed to fully meeting the needs of our organizations and especially our members.”
In the face of constantly rising health care costs, Prescription Solutions has helped the IBT control its costs while providing the high level of pharmacy benefits its members deserve. Prescription Solutions has been able to save IBT members more than $2.5 million per year by implementing a preferred mail service program for maintenance medications and a plan design that encourages use of generic alternatives through out-of-pocket cost incentives.
Jacqueline Kosecoff, Ph.D, CEO of Prescription Solutions, said, “IBT works tirelessly to ensure its members have access to affordable, quality health care. We appreciate their confidence in us and feel privileged to have the opportunity to continue our work helping the trustees make sound decisions about pharmacy benefit programs so their members can live healthier lives.”
Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer, Tom Keegel added, “After an exhaustive study of the market by experienced professionals, the IBT once again selected Prescription Solutions based on its proven ability since 2002 to help address pharmacy trends such as increased generic dispensing, clinical focus, mail service offerings, specialty pharmacy offerings and the like. Over the past six years, Prescription Solutions has built a good working relationship with the IBT and helped us to grow our TeamsteRx Program from 8 to over 25 funds.”
About Prescription Solutions
Prescription Solutions is an innovative pharmacy benefit management company managing the prescription drug benefit of commercial, Medicare and other governmental health plans, as well as those of employers and unions. A UnitedHealth Group company, Prescription Solutions serves members through a national network of 64,000 community pharmacies and state-of-the-art mail service pharmacies in Carlsbad, California, and Overland Park, Kansas, which have both earned the prestigious Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites™ (VIPPS®) accreditation by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®). The company was recently ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Mail Order Pharmacies” in the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 National Pharmacy StudySM, as well as being named by WilsonRx® as the No. 1 National Top-Tier PBM, and No. 1 National Mail Order Pharmacy for customer satisfaction two years in a row. Prescription Solutions also won URAC’s 2008 Best Practices for Consumer Empowerment and Protection Award in the PBM category. Additional information can be found at www.prescriptionsolutions.com.
About UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health and well-being company dedicated to making health care work better. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of products and services through six operating businesses: UnitedHealthcare, Ovations, AmeriChoice, OptumHealth, Ingenix, and Prescription Solutions. Through its family of businesses, UnitedHealth Group serves more than 70 million individuals nationwide.
About International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)
Founded in 1903, the Teamsters Union represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.