CYPRESS, Calif., July 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. announced that its pharmacy benefit management subsidiary, Prescription Solutions, has selected Overland Park, Kan., to be the location for an additional mail service pharmacy.
Prescription Solutions, with headquarters in Costa Mesa, Calif., will locate the new operations in a 175,000-square-foot portion of the Overland Park International Trade Center. Construction will begin immediately and will be completed in mid-2006.
According to Jacqueline Kosecoff, PacifiCare’s executive vice president, Specialty Companies, Overland Park represents an important milestone in the company’s nationwide expansion. “We selected Overland Park because the community and surrounding region have many of the necessary attributes we value, including a friendly business climate, an educated and ample work force, and a convenient and suitable building location.”
Kosecoff stated that Prescription Solutions’ expansion comes in anticipation of increased consumer demand resulting from the new Medicare Part D prescription drug program, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2006. In March, PacifiCare, one of the nation’s largest providers of health care services for seniors, announced that it is participating nationwide -- in all 34 regions established by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services -- in the Part D program.
“The federal government’s Medicare Part D prescription drug program, which will offer drug coverage for approximately 42 million Medicare beneficiaries next year, presents PacifiCare with the opportunity to better meet the health care needs of individuals with enhanced home-delivery capabilities that we believe provide outstanding quality, value and convenience,” Kosecoff added. “By expanding our mail service pharmacy operations into Overland Park, we have taken an important step in our effort to transform PacifiCare into a nationwide consumer health organization.”
The Overland Park facility will be Prescription Solutions’ second mail service pharmacy. Today, Prescription Solutions’ mail service facility in the San Diego area fills more than 20,000 prescriptions daily. The Overland Park facility is being designed to fill 50,000 prescriptions per eight-hour shift, with a capacity of two shifts daily.
According to a recent report by Hewitt Associates, a human resources consulting firm, approximately 22 percent of employers require their employees to use mail service to fill their prescriptions.
“By expanding our state-of-the-art mail service capabilities into Overland Park, we believe we will be able to meet increasing employer and consumer demand for the convenience and affordability that mail service offers,” said Prescription Solutions President Ed Feaver. “Prescription Solutions’ revenue growth was driven by a 39-percent increase in mail order revenue year over year. Our 2004 year-end mail service penetration rate was 26 percent, which is one of the highest in the nation.”
PacifiCare expects that the new facility will create up to 850 new full-time jobs, with the potential for additional growth in the future.
“I’ve been working hard to bring good jobs to Kansas, and as a result more Kansans are working than ever before,” said Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius. “I’m very pleased Prescription Solutions has chosen to bring 850 jobs to Kansas. This is good news for Overland Park and for Kansas.”
Carl Gerlach, mayor of Overland Park, said: “Prescription Solutions’ new Overland Park facility is a reflection of the cooperation and success shared by the mayor’s and governor’s offices, the Overland Park Economic Development Council, Kansas City Area Development Council and many other organizations working together to attract quality companies to Kansas. We are proud that Prescription Solutions chose Overland Park and look forward to a mutually beneficial working relationship in the years ahead.”
PacifiCare is currently accepting preliminary applications for employment. Interested, qualified applicants should visit PacifiCare’s Web site at www.pacificare.com and submit their resumes for consideration.
About Prescription Solutions
Prescription Solutions is an innovative pharmacy benefit management company managing the prescription drug benefit of commercial, Medicare and governmental health plans, as well as those of employers and unions representing over $2.6 billion in annual pharmaceutical purchases. A wholly owned subsidiary of PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. , one of the nation’s largest consumer health organizations, Prescription Solutions now serves members through a state-of-the-art mail service pharmacy in Carlsbad, California, as well as through a national network of 53,000 community pharmacies. Online information can be found at www.rxsolutions.com.
About PacifiCare Health Systems
PacifiCare Health Systems is one of the nation’s largest consumer health organizations with nearly 3.2 million health plan members and approximately 11.3 million specialty plan members nationwide. PacifiCare offers individuals, employers and Medicare beneficiaries a variety of consumer-driven health care and life insurance products. Specialty operations include behavioral health, dental and vision, and complete pharmacy benefit management through its wholly owned subsidiary, Prescription Solutions. More information on PacifiCare Health Systems is available at www.pacificare.com.
PacifiCare Health Systems Inc.
CONTACT: Media Relations, Tyler Mason, +1-714-226-3530,tyler.mason@phs.com, or Dan Miller, +1-714-226-3726, dan.miller@phs.com,both of PacifiCare Health Systems Inc.
