MedImpact Brings Choice and Transparency to New York.

SAN DIEGO -- Joe Hreben, director of business development for pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) MedImpact Healthcare Systems, Inc., is working to ensure New York has a PBM that is committed to low net cost, high quality care and equally high consumer satisfaction.

"Prescription drug costs

continue to be an issue for employers who want to provide their employees with access to affordable medications," says Hreben. "MedImpact works with employers and health plans to successfully manage pharmacy benefit costs. This is achieved through a fully transparent business model that prioritizes choice -- in the drug selection process and in the fulfillment process. By employing choice and by empowering consumers, MedImpact enhances consumer satisfaction and lowers cost. I look forward to working closely with New York's employers and managed care organizations to help their clients and their consumers achieve their goals."

Hreben's commitment to enhancing New Yorkers' pharmacy benefits is exemplified in the innovative collaboration he has forged between MedImpact and New York counties to provide discount drug programs. While available to all residents, the programs are designed to be of greatest benefit to their uninsured and underinsured residents.

The Oneida County Drug Discount Program, administered by MedImpact, was launched in June of 2005 and offers all community members an opportunity to sign up for the no-cost, county-sponsored program. With an estimated 40,000 residents having no (or not enough) health insurance, the program enabled Oneida County to meet residents' needs for access to affordable prescription medications. The program provides discounts for all prescription medications -- up to 21 percent for brand-name drugs and up to 38 percent for generic drugs -- at more than 50 participating independent and chain pharmacies.

MedImpact relationships in New York also include serving as the PBM for MDNY Healthcare, Inc., a doctor-owned health plan in Long Island, and for Health Plus, a not-for-profit health plan providing health coverage through New York's public health insurance programs. In addition, MedImpact is the PBM for two New York Medicare plans. To preserve the pharmacist-to-patient relationship and to ensure access to consumers, MedImpact provides New York a retail pharmacy network encompassing 4,527 pharmacies which includes 51 chain pharmacies as well as 2,261 independent local pharmacies.

Hreben, who has been with MedImpact since 1993, is a managed care veteran from both the business development and the PBM points of view. Dedicated to supporting New York's managed care clients, he attributes MedImpact's success in the state to the company's unbiased clinical guidelines, forward-thinking business practices and commitment to delivering flexible choices. These include choice-based programs, such as Choice90Rx, as well as consumer-directed tools such as a proprietary health management system, spending account management tools, and a member Web site -- all designed to help consumers contribute to the management of health care costs.

About MedImpact Healthcare Systems, Inc.

MedImpact Healthcare Systems, Inc., was founded in 1989. The company currently services 27 million members nationwide with clients that include managed care organizations, Fortune 500 corporations, unions, insurance carriers, third-party administrators, as well as local, state and federal employee programs. MedImpact bases its success on delivering innovative products and services designed to lower overall client cost while increasing member satisfaction and quality of care.