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Public
Employee Press Drug
firm sold; no interruption seen in members prescription benefit
The
Health & Security Plans prescription drug benefit manager, Innoviant,
has been purchased by UnitedHealthcare, which is part of the nations largest
health insurer, United Health Group.
Innoviant President Mark Campbell
has assured the plan that there will be no change in how UnitedHealthcare handles
the unions drug benefit, and that the current contract, which expires on
June 30, 2009, will continue to be honored.
Members will continue to have
their prescriptions filled as they have before without any interruption, stated
Cynthia Chin-Marshall, the plans administrator.
In recent years,
United Health Group has been on an aggressive campaign to acquire other health-related
businesses throughout the United States. Innoviants parent company, Fiserv
Inc., announced plans for the sale late last year, and the trustees of the Health
and Security Plan quickly met with Campbell to discuss the impact of the move.
In January, Marshall announced the sale to the DC 37 Delegates Council and assured
them that the sale will not affect the prescription drug coverage of members and
retirees.
The union works hard to protect the drug benefit, which accounts
for three-quarters of the plans budget. Besides aggressively
negotiating the best contracts we can get and enforcing those contracts, we also
sue wrongdoers in the pharmaceutical industry whose greed and illegal activities drive
up the cost we all pay for prescription drugs, Marshall said.
The
plan also weighs in on important legislation aimed at regulating this basically
unregulated industry.
With costs constantly rising, when it comes
to what we spend on health care, we all need to be smart, tough-minded consumers,
Marshall said. | |