May 5, 2021

Members with Medicare Pharmacy Coverage to Have New Home Delivery and Specialty Pharmacy Options Starting Aug. 1

What’s happening: Our pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), Prime Therapeutics®, signed an agreement to provide its health plan clients, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL), another home delivery and specialty pharmacy option through the Express Scripts® Pharmacy and Accredo®, a full-service specialty pharmacy.

Starting Aug. 1, 2021, members in our Medicare plans will have the option to use Express Scripts® Pharmacy for home delivery and Accredo for specialty pharmacy services. In addition, our employer group and retail plans and Medicaid plans will add these pharmacy services later, and we will provide information once confirmed.

Member support: If Medicare members would like to use the new pharmacy services on or after Aug. 1, 2021, general information on how to contact the pharmacies will be made available in member communication materials. These include websites, handbooks and other pharmacy benefit collateral.

If members call Accredo, they will be supported by a dedicated onboarding support team. The team will help members register and complete their first fills after Aug. 1. All first fills will be conducted with an agent over the phone to make sure patient profiles are complete and future condition-specific support resources are set up appropriately.

Questions? Stay tuned for more information about these new pharmacy services. If you have any questions, contact your BCBSIL representative.

This information applies to members and groups with prescription drug benefits administered through Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL).

BCBSIL contracts with Prime Therapeutics to provide pharmacy benefit management and related other services. The relationship between BCBSIL and contracting pharmacies is that of independent contractors. BCBSIL, as well as several independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans, has an ownership interest in Prime Therapeutics. MyPrime.com Leaving site icon is an online resource offered by Prime Therapeutics. Prime Therapeutics has an ownership interest in AllianceRx Walgreens Prime, a central specialty and home delivery pharmacy.

Accredo is a specialty pharmacy that is contracted to provide services to members of BCBSIL. The relationship between Accredo and BCBSIL is that of independent contractors. Accredo is a trademark of Express Scripts Strategic Development, Inc.

Express Scripts® Pharmacy is a pharmacy that is contracted to provide mail pharmacy services to members of BCBSIL. The relationship between Express Scripts® Pharmacy and BCBSIL is that of independent contractors. Express Scripts® Pharmacy is a trademark of Express Scripts Strategic Development, Inc.

Express Scripts is an independent company and is solely responsible for the products and services that it provides.

Blue Cross®, Blue Shield® and the Cross and Shield Symbols are registered service marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans.