Centene will contract with Cigna’s Express Scripts to manage $40 billion in pharmaceutical spending by 2024, the companies announced Tuesday.
“We feel gratified about moving forward with core services and the ability to scale relationships if that makes sense,” Centene CEO Sarah London said on the third-quarter earnings call. of health insurance companies with investors.
Centene and Express Scripts did not disclose the length of the contract or the economic terms. Cigna’s Express Scripts subsidiary will cover most of the costs from CVS Health’s Caremark, the company that manages nearly all of the insurer’s pharmaceutical services, to the new pharmacy benefits manager, the Director. Finance Centene Drew Asher said on the call.
Last October, Centene announced that they were on the market for a new PBM. The company switched from its in-house PBM, Envolve Health Solutions, to a third party after multiple states accused Centene of overcharging Medicaid for prescription drugs.
The nation’s largest Medicaid insurer paid more than $553 million to settle fraud allegations from 11 states. Centene has spent a total of $1.25 billion to settle allegations of improper charges related to Envolve.
The company exited the pharmacy benefit management business when it sold MagellanRx and PANTHERx in separate transactions collectively valued at $2.8 billion this year.
