benefit plans and formularies that help reduce drug costs; as a participant on the Corporate United Medco agreement, companies achieve even greater savings while still receiving the highest-quality care and maintaining member satisfaction.

With pharmacy benefits costs on the rise, in great part due to direct-to-consumer advertising encouraging the use of brand-name drugs, plan managers are tasked with the challenge of managing costs without increasing the employee cost share.  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services predict an acceleration of national drug spending from now until at least 2011 – 7.4 percent now to 8.6 percent in four years – mostly due to prescription drug costs. Through Medco’s active plan management, clients continually achieve rates of spending growth that are well below national norms. Medco has proven its ability with multiple Corporate United members to drive higher generic drug utilization and mail ordering. Medco clients drove its 2007 generic rate to a high of 59.7 percent, which is a 4.5 point increase from 2006.

Participants on the Corporate United Medco contract receive a combination of aggressive pricing in addition to clinical programs designed to aid companies in a proactive approach to continuously improving this valuable benefit. Some of the benefits associated with using the Corporate United Medco agreement include:

• Deep discounts off wholesale prices at point-of-purchase, giving immediate savings to members and their employees

• Access to a network of over 60,000 retail pharmacies

• Home delivery (mail order) pharmacy with 24/7 phone and internet Rx ordering, same day turnaround for refills, and a JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) score of 100%

• 24/7 employee services with 94% first contact resolution

• Web site where employees can compare Rx pricing and coverage

This is the time of year when companies will begin to examine their benefits plans for 2009. If your company is trying to determine how best to manage rising pharmacy benefits costs, consider contacting your Corporate United representative or calling 440-895-0938 to learn more about the Medco program.