Wellpoint NextRx Receives TIPPS Certification from the HR Policy A...( WellPoint's PBM One of Only 13 Compa...),Health

WellPoint's PBM One of Only 13 Companies to Meet HRPA's Stringent Pricing

and Transparency Requirements

INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- WellPoint NextRx, the nation's largest health plan-owned pharmacy benefit management (PBM) subsidiary, has received Transparency in Pharmaceutical Purchasing Solutions (TIPPS) certification from the HR Policy Association (HRPA). Effective January 1, 2008, the certification will enable WellPoint NextRx to offer PBM services to customer members of the HRPA Pharmaceutical Purchasing Coalition, which is made up of more than 55 of the nation's largest employers and provides pharmacy benefits to more than five million Americans.

"WellPoint NextRx is committed to promoting transparency in our industry and our TIPPS certification is evidence of this commitment," said Renwyck Elder, president of WellPoint NextRx, a division of WellPoint, Inc. "We look forward to working with members of the HR Policy Association as well as other companies to help them better manage their pharmacy costs and develop benefit designs that bring the greatest possible value to their employees."

To be certified, WellPoint NextRx agreed to meet the following business standards:

-- To provide the acquisition price of brand and generic drugs

delivered by mail order

-- To charge employers the same price that WellPoint NextRx pays to the

dispensing pharmacy for brand and generic drugs dispensed at retail

pharmacies

-- To disclose and pass through any and all payments received by

WellPoint NextRx from pharmaceutical manufacturers that are based on

an employer's drug utilization

-- To allow an audit of contracts to verify compliance

Each year, the HRPA formulates a uniform definition of transparency and annually certifies organizations that agree to TIPPS standards. For 2008, HRPA has certified five new PBMs and recertified eight PBMs that have a
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