WellCare appoints CVS Health as new pharmacy benefit manager

Health insurer WellCare Health Plans Inc. transferred its pharmacy benefit management (PBM) to CVS Health, the second largest PBM company in the nation, Friday.

CVS Health now processes pharmacy claims and manages the pharmacy benefit accounts for the nearly 3.8 million WellCare members who take part in government-sponsored Medicaid, Medicare and Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) programs nationwide.

The transition allows WellCare members to have access to a larger pharmacy network that includes pharmacy chain stores and local pharmacies. Additionally, CVS Health provides WellCare patients with clinical coordinated care programs that are designed to improve medication adherence and eliminate drug therapy issues.

"WellCare is committed to improving the quality of care and services we provide to our members to help them live better, healthier lives," WellCare Chief Pharmacy Officer Laura Hungiville said. "We are pleased to partner with CVS Health to provide a comprehensive network of pharmacies and clinical programs designed to promote better health outcomes for our members."

In a recent CVS Health study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers found that pharmacy networks that offer members incentives to use specific in-network pharmacies often show results of improved medication adherence.

"We are pleased to support WellCare and their members starting in 2016," Jonathan C. Roberts, president of CVS/caremark, the pharmacy benefit management business of CVS Health, said. "We believe that CVS Health's unique integrated model for pharmacy care will provide WellCare members with innovative, cost-effective pharmacy benefit management services that also help improve health outcomes."