Effective Jan. 1, 2014, Catamaran, the nation's fourth largest pharmacy benefit manager, will replace Express Scripts as the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Board of Pensions' Prescription Drug Program service provider.

The change will apply to all plan members enrolled in the BOP’s Highmark PPO. 

The primary reason for the change is to provide quality service to members while maintaining the basic provisions of the program. The move is cost-effective, in that it will not increase expenses to the Medical Plan. 

Through this partnership, we expect you will experience

  • improved service;
  • high-quality medication dispensing;
  • access to the same, or mostly the same, retail pharmacies as are currently available (the Catamaran network includes 68,000 retail pharmacies); and
  • little or no change in the prescription drugs listed on the formulary. (Prescription drugs included in a formulary are covered by the plan at the formulary rate. If you are taking a prescription drug that, in 2014, will not be on the Catamaran formulary, Catamaran will notify you in November.)

The records of all plan members -- including the refill orders for prescriptions you have filled by mail order or at a retail pharmacy -- will transfer automatically from Express Scripts to Catamaran. That means, in nearly all cases, you will not need to get new prescriptions as a result of the change to Catamaran and your mail deliveries will continue uninterrupted. 

The Board will provide all the information you will need to know about the change to Catamaran in the coming months, and you will receive a new prescription ID card in December. In the meantime, Express Scripts will continue to manage your prescription drug coverage, including flu shots and other immunizations, through the remainder of 2013. 

If you have questions about your coverage, please call the Board of Pensions at 800-773-7752 (800-PRESPLAN) and speak with a member service representative.