Chair Talk

November 2012

On Thursday, November 8, I was invited by Lauri Schmidt (Employee Benefits Director) and Kurt Laycock (MedImpact Regional Manager) on a tour of Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy (Flint) and Novixus Mail Order Pharmacy (Novi). Purpose of the tour was to get an overview of the facilities and meet Directors and staff of both facilities. The facilities that we visited were impressive and the staff I met at those facilities for the State of Michigan account was very knowledgeable and will be retiree friendly.

here will be several mailings in the next few weeks about the Rx program. Mailings start next week with the Retiree Bulletins announcing the program and vendors involved. The presentation that will be made at the CC meeting on November 9th should be very informative and any questions/concerns the audience have will be addressed.

MedImpact will be the administrator of the Prescription Drug program that will begin on January 1, 2013.

Medicare Generation Rx has been engaged by the State of Michigan to administer the Part D (Employer Group Waiver Plan—EGWP) benefit and the supplemental wrap plan starting January 1, 2013.

Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy will be the company that handles the prescriptions for Specialty Drugs. Specialty drugs are high cost drugs that deal with several diseases (Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, HIV, etc). They are a state of the art facility located in Flint, Michigan. There are about 10,000 retirees that utilize specialty drugs.

Novixus Mail Order Pharmacy will be handling the mail order prescriptions for both active and retired State employees. They also have a state of the art facility.

Everyone I met and talked to at the various facilities want this transition to be as smooth and seamless as possible. I believe that the State’s decision to move to the EGWP and wraparound for Medicare retirees will be cost-effective for both the State and those of us that utilize the program.

It is important that ORS has your correct contact information (address and phone #) so that mailings can reach you on a timely basis. ORS is the agency that provides the eligibility file to MedImpact for the prescription drug program. The easiest way to keep your contact information updated is through the miaccount process.

Editor’s note: Bob Kopasz is Chair of the Michigan SERA Council. He may be reached at P.O. Box 692, Mt. Morris, MI 48458; phone 810/240-8380.