Molina Healthcare extended its contract with pharmacy benefit manager CVS Caremark through 2021, marking the first major win for CVS since its acquisition of Aetna.
Under the agreement, renewed Jan. 1, CVS will continue to negotiate drug prices and provide other pharmacy benefits for Molina's 4 million members.
"Our renewed partnership with CVS Caremark and the restructuring of our pharmacy benefit management business have allowed us to unlock significant value by lowering costs while improving member adherence and outcomes," said Joe Zubretsky, president and CEO of Molina Healthcare. “We now have the management team, PBM partner and infrastructure in place to deliver best in class pharmacy services to our members and state partners."
Competition among PBMs is expected to intensify now that Express Scripts has completed its acquisition of insurer Cigna, and UnitedHealth Group's OptumRx continues to expand.