Three firms bid on Senior Rx program

Monday, Aug. 9, 2004 | 10:47 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Three companies -- one in Las Vegas and two from out of state -- have submitted bids to take over Senior Rx, the state's program to provide low cost prescription drugs to more than 9,000 older Nevadans.

The companies that applied Friday were Catalyst Rx of Las Vegas; Medimpact Health Care Systems, Inc. of Tucson, Ariz. and Sav-Rx Prescription Services of Fremont, Neb.

A committee of the state Purchasing Division and the state Human Resources Department will examine the bids and make a recommendation to state Human Resources Director Mike Willden, who would award the estimated $9 million-a-year contract.

The program, started in 1998, is being restructured in an attempt to lower drug prices and to coordinate benefits with the new Medicare prescription drug program. All three bidders are federally approved Medicare drug discount firms.

To qualify to participate in Nevada's Senior Rx program, a person must be at least 62 years old, have lived in Nevada for at least one year and have an income of less than $22,016 for an individual or $28,660 for a couple. There are no monthly premiums, but the individual must co-pay $10 for a generic drug and $25 for a preferred prescription.

Each participant's annual benefit is capped at $5,000.

About half of the people in Senior RX also qualify for Medicare and a federal $600-per-year subsidy.

Jane Smedes of Senior Rx said the program fills about 20,000 prescriptions a month at an average cost in June of $43.24.

Under the present contract that is ending, the state pays $65 a month per enrollee to Professional Risk and Asset Management Insurance Service of Brea, Calif., to cover the cost of drugs. Professional Risk also receives an additional $14.87 a month for each enrollee to run the program, secure the pharmacy network, buy insurance and pay the state's 3.5 percent insurance tax.

The state will take over some of the administrative tasks that are now handled by Professional Risk.

Sav-Rx is a privately owned company and has close to 11 million members. Christy Piti, executive vice president of Sav-Rx, said it has the Culinary Union contract in Southern Nevada and manages a senior citizens drug program in Illinois.

Catalyst RX, started in 1994, reports it has more than 2 million members in 50 states.

Medimpact, according to its Web site, is the largest privately held pharmacy benefit manager in the nation and was started in 1989.