~ New pharmacy benefit manager to enhance programs, save state $5 million annually ~

Taking another step to contain health care costs through technology and electronic medical records, Governor Tim Pawlenty announced today that the State of Minnesota will implement e-prescribing for state employees and their dependents through a new prescription benefits manager.

The Department of Employee Relations (DOER) has agreed to negotiate with Navitus Health Solutions of Madison, Wisconsin as the sole pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) for the Minnesota Advantage Health Plan for State employees. Currently, each of the three health plans that participate in Advantage uses a separate PBM to administer pharmacy benefits for 115,000 state employees and their dependents.

A single PBM will increase efficiency and save the state about $5 million a year. The savings will go directly back to the health plan to help control rising health care premiums.

“Government can and should do more to contain health care costs through technology and the purchasing power of our award-winning Advantage health plan,” Governor Pawlenty said. “A single pharmacy benefit manager will improve quality and, at the same time, lower health plan costs paid by employees and taxpayers.”

“The Minnesota Advantage Health Plan will be able to expand health and pharmacy programs while saving millions,” DOER commissioner Patricia Anderson said. “Some of the benefits include a single drug formulary, enhanced implementation of clinical programs and plan design improvements, and streamlining of the prescription refill and authorization process.”

One of the first initiatives under the new PBM is to implement ePrescribing, which allows prescriptions to be entered and transmitted electronically to participating pharmacies. E-prescribing improves patient safety and overall quality of care by reducing errors associated with illegible handwriting, improper dosages, and drug interaction mistakes.

It is estimated that approximately 3 billion prescriptions are written annually in the United States, 30 percent of which require follow-up phone calls due to lack of clarity or illegibility. Approximately 7,000 deaths occur each year in the U.S. due to medication errors.

E-prescribing will allow state employees to better manage prescription drug medications while making prescription drug information available to members and their doctors 24/7 in a more portable and sharable format.

“Navitus is very excited to begin a long-term, fully transparent partnership with the State of Minnesota. We look forward to assisting the State in improving their members’ quality of care and lowering its prescription drug costs,” said Robert Palmer, Chief Executive Officer of Navitus Health Solutions.

DOER and the unions representing state employees cooperated in developing the move to a single PBM, and support the improvement of the Advantage Health Plan.

“Unions suggested that the state flex its buying power muscle to cut a better deal on prescription drugs,” explained Eliot Seide, director of AFSCME Council 5, a union of 19,000 state employees. “Our health care savings will reduce premium increases and help hold down costs for the state and its workers.”

“This is a strong example of labor and management cooperating for mutual benefit,” said Jim Monroe, director of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, which represents 11,000 state employees. “Together we are committed to containing the costs of health care for the state’s workforce.”

The increased quality and savings realized through a single prescription benefits manager builds on the successes from the 2007 legislative session:

• Governor Pawlenty proposed and the legislature adopted an effort to create a uniform electronic billing and coding system that will make Minnesota the first state in the nation to use a single electronic method for all claims and eligibility transactions, significantly reducing health care administrative costs. Paper claims and eligibility transactions can no longer be submitted in Minnesota after January 15, 2009.
• The Governor proposed a continued investment in E-Health initiatives to move Minnesota toward an interoperable electronic medical record system, ensuring that the health care industry is better able to provide care that is safer, more coordinated, more efficient, and less expensive. Minnesota will require that all hospitals and health care providers implement interoperable electronic health records by January 1, 2015. The Governor signed a bill to provide $14 million to help small rural health care providers and community clinics meet that goal.
• The Governor proposed and the legislature agreed to update Minnesota privacy statutes to protect the privacy of citizens in the new age of electronic records.

Governor Pawlenty’s previous health care initiatives include:

• Last year, Governor Pawlenty introduced QCare – Quality Care and Rewarding Excellence – as a new quality standard to reward top performing providers while saving millions of dollars in health care costs. To implement the program, the Governor signed an executive order directing state government to apply QCare standards and align payments and incentives for all state purchased health care.
• Governor Pawlenty’s Health Cabinet unveiled www.minnesotahealthinfo.org to provide consumers with information on health care costs and quality in Minnesota.
• Minnesota leads the country in a collaborative approach between health plans, medical groups, physicians, patients, and employers working together through MN Community Measurement.
• The Minnesota Nursing Home Report Card is an online tool for Minnesota consumers to compare quality of life and resident satisfaction at the state’s 396 Medical Assistance certified nursing homes.
• Governor Pawlenty launched the Smart Buy Alliance – a unique public-private partnership of health care purchasers in Minnesota.
• RxPrice Compare allows consumers to comparison shop prescription drug prices at more than 1,000 local pharmacies using a new feature on the state’s nation-leading prescription drug Web site.