Express Scripts, Inc.

Prescription Benefits Management with Express Scripts, Inc. (ESI) offers employees access to an inclusive network of participating pharmacies as well as mail order services. Launched in 1995, Express Scripts, Inc. (ESI) was the National Business Coalition on Health's (NBCH) first group purchased carve-out program. After a re-bidding process during the fall of 2000, Express Scripts, Inc. (ESI) remains our PBM of choice, particularly in their ability and willingness to address the unique needs of business coalitions and their employer members. Over the last six years we are pleased with the progress of this product, which includes 25 coalitions offering the Express Scripts, Inc. (ESI) product to 211 employers representing a quarter million covered lives. At the end of year 2000, these employers were billed $92 million for prescription drugs and paid $73 million, an average discount equal to the average wholesale price (AWP) minus 19-63% based on the top 200 drugs reviewed.

NBCH is confident in the quality and value of services provided by Express Scripts, Inc. (ESI) , in fact, the PBM consistently maintains the #1 ranking for overall PBM performance by the Prescription Benefit Management Institute's (PBMI) Annual Customer Satisfaction Survey. Year after year business coalitions and employers give Express Scripts, Inc. (ESI) high ratings in every category of the PBMI survey. According to the 2000 survey report, Express Scripts, Inc. (ESI) ranked first in eleven of the thirteen available categories.

To learn more about NBCH pricing, performance guarantees and other issues concerning our relationship with Express Scripts, Inc. (ESI), please contact NBCH at 202-775-9300.

Furthermore, Express Scripts, Inc. has regional marketing and account representatives. To obtain more information about the program or to arrange a coalition and/or employer meeting please contact:

FDA considers new rules for direct-to-consumer Rx ads

As direct-to-consumer advertisements for brand-name prescription drugs increasingly appear on Americans’ televisions, federal health officials are considering new rules to better inform consumers of drugs’ risks and side effects.

Speaking this week at a meeting of the National Association of Health Underwriters, Federal Drug Administration Commissioner Mark McClellan said the FDA may revise guidelines for drug advertisements to ensure they adequately explain potential risks. Although the FDA already requires advertisements that promote a drug’s benefits also report side effects, a recent FDA survey of physicians reveals that patients aren’t getting "the full message," prompting the agency to take another look at the rules, according to McClellan.

Whether consumers are getting the message at all is up for debate. Survey results from Ipsos PharmTrends show while 60% of consumers report seeing a prescription drug ad in the last year (a 47% increase), the number that asked their doctor about a drug they saw advertised remains unchanged over the past three years, at about 20%.

from PHARMACY BENEFIT MANAGEMENT — NEWS YOU CAN USE FROM CORY EASTON, EXPRESS SCRIPTS, INC., April 24, 2003