As many of you know, Blue Cross Blue Shield, as well as other insurance carriers, are in the process of cutting down on costs to try and deal with the effects of the affordable care act. One way BCBS is doing this is by changing their pharmacy coverage starting January 1st.
Effective January 1st CVS and Target will no longer be in-network pharmacies. This will affect all non-HMO plans whether they are new or a renewal on January 1st 2017. HMO members, as required by law will still be able to utilize CVS and Target. BCBS members should treat this the same as an out of network doctor or hospital and not get any prescriptions filled at either location. We recommend BCBS members start switching to a different pharmacy now to avoid confusion in 2017. One positive change is that starting in 2017 Wal-Mart will be included as an in-network pharmacy.
The other major change for BCBS pharmacy is the changing from an open formulary list to a closed formulary list. With an open formulary list, any drug would be covered under one of the copay options when you went to the pharmacy. Now that BCBS is changing to a closed formulary list some drugs will not be covered. We have been told most of the drugs that will be affected will deal with ADD and ADHD medication. Blue Cross Blue Shield has not released the new drug list yet. We are hoping the list will be released when the premium rates are released which should be at the end of October. Better Business Planning will be updating you as soon as we find out any more changes coming to Blue Cross Blue Shield for 2017.
If you have any questions and for more information about changes coming to Blue Cross Blue Shield, contact Patrick Bellinger at 630-775-8535 or patrick@bbp-dac.com. Make sure to follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn and to like us on Facebook to stay up to date.
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