TennCare Awards Pharmacy Benefits Manager Contract to Magellan Health Services

 

NASHVILLE – The Bureau of TennCare has selected Magellan Health Services as the new Pharmacy Benefits Manager (PBM) for the state Medicaid program.  The three-year, $35 million contract was awarded in December 2012, signaling the start of six months of extensive preparation and readiness reviews.  The transition from Catamaran, TennCare’s current PBM, to Magellan will take effect June 1, 2013.    

 

The TennCare PBM administers the pharmacy claims system which is an online system that processes all pharmacy transactions, administers TennCare’s Preferred Drug List and negotiates rebates and discounts with drug manufacturers.  

 

“We have been able to control pharmacy spending in the TennCare program through effective management of our pharmacy benefit,” said Health Care Finance and Administration Deputy Commissioner Darin Gordon.  “We look forward to working with Magellan to continue providing excellent service to our members as well as appropriately managing pharmacy costs.”

 

Magellan Health Services was selected through a competitive bid process in which bidders were evaluated on a combination of technical expertise and cost.  

 

“We are very confident in the new partnership with Magellan Health Services,” said TennCare Pharmacy Director Bryan Leibowitz.  “We are working to ensure a smooth transition for our providers and members.”    

 

The contract with Magellan is a three-year contract with two one-year extension options.  In addition to TennCare, Magellan serves 40 health plans, several pharmaceutical manufacturers and other state Medicaid programs in their pharmaceutical segment of business.  

 

TennCare is the state’s Medicaid program that provides health care for 1.2 million Tennesseans.