PCMA Welcomes Priority Healthcare Corporation as Newest Member Of PCMA’s Specialty Pharmacy Council
(Washington, DC)—Priority Healthcare is the newest member of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association’s (PCMA) Specialty Pharmacy Council, the association announced today. Headquartered in Lake Mary, Florida, Priority Healthcare Corporation is a leading national specialty pharmacy and distribution company providing biopharmaceutical services for patients with chronic diseases or genetic disorders that require complex therapies.
“PCMA is pleased to welcome Priority Healthcare as the newest member of the Specialty Pharmacy Council,” said PCMA President Mark Merritt. “With PCMA’s Specialty Pharmacy Council, specialty pharmacy providers have their first-ever national representation that allows them to speak with one voice in the public policy arena. Given its size and distinguished history, Priority Healthcare’s participation will only add to the depth and breadth of PCMA’s Specialty Pharmacy Council.”
Comprised of industry leaders from PBMs, health insurers, and independent specialty pharmacy providers, PCMA’s Specialty Pharmacy Council provides the first-ever national forum allowing the industry to speak with one voice before policymakers, opinion leaders, and others. Council members include:
Caremark Rx, Inc.
Cigna Pharmacy Management
CuraScript Biotech Solutions/Express Scripts
McKesson Specialty Solutions
Medco Health Solutions, Inc.
Option Care
Prescription Solutions
Priority Healthcare
WellPoint Pharmacy Management
Increasingly, PBMs, insurers, and specialty pharmacy providers are working together in an effort to provide an integrated and seamless pharmacy benefit to consumers and purchasers. As demand for new and costly specialty pharmaceuticals grows rapidly, specialty pharmacy providers are essential to providing tailored pharmacy management, promoting quality, and reining in costs for over thirty different complex medical conditions, such as HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, hemophilia, and rheumatoid arthritis. Specialty pharmaceuticals, including injectibles and biologics, cost as much as $35 billion a year Ă¢?? and are growing at double the rate of traditional drug therapies due to expanding development and growing utilization. For private and public payers, including Medicare and Medicaid, the cost and appropriate management of these therapies present an ongoing challenge that serves to underscore the need for effective specialty pharmacy management services.
PCMA will host a Specialty Pharmacy Symposium June 13, 2005 in New York, NY, as well as the first annual PCMA Specialty Pharmacy Annual Meeting October 24-25, 2005 in Indian Wells, CA.
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The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) is the national trade association representing America’s pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). PCMA member companies provide pharmaceutical care management services to more than 200 million Americans.
Contact Information:
Phil Blando
202-207-3614