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CVS Caremark and Universal American Will End Medicare Part D Strategic Alliance at Year-End 2008
February 13, 2008
Since the inception of the program in 2006, Universal American has offered Medicare Part D prescription drug plans through its Prescription PathwaySM products in conjunction with Caremark Pharmacy Services, a subsidiary of CVS Caremark.
Upon dissolving the strategic alliance, SilverScript Insurance Company, which is CVS Caremark's Medicare Part D PDP, and Universal American will each assume responsibility for the drug benefit of specified Prescription PathwaySM plan members to achieve an approximately equal distribution of the value of business that has been generated by the strategic alliance.
Tom Ryan, Chairman, President, and CEO of CVS Caremark, stated “We have been very pleased with our alliance with Universal American, and have enjoyed great success with the Medicare Part D program. As we approach the end of the initial 3-year term of our joint venture, and in light of CVS' merger with Caremark, we decided to consolidate our Part D business under our SilverScript PDP. The people at Universal American have been a pleasure to work with, and we will end this venture with appreciation for their efforts.”
“CVS Caremark has been a wonderful partner in our successful entry into the Part D business. We have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship, while offering significant value to our Medicare Part D members,” said Richard Barasch, Chairman & CEO of Universal American Corp. “As we approach the sunset of the CVS Caremark joint venture, we are excited about the opportunities afforded by our MemberHealth PBM and Part D platform and its relationship with the National Community Pharmacists Association and network of independent pharmacies.”
CVS Caremark and Universal American stated that this change will not affect the Prescription Pathways Part D plan offerings in 2008 in which approximately 550,000 members are currently enrolled.
