Express Scripts Acquires SmartD Medicare Prescription Drug Plan; Adds to Industry-Leading Medicare Offering

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Sep 09, 2013, 09:24 ET

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) today announced the strategic acquisition of the SmartD Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) which will add 87,000 covered Medicare lives. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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"Working together with independent and chain pharmacies, we look forward to serving SmartD members and we are pleased in the continued growth and enhancement of our Medicare PDP offering," said Brit Pim, vice president and general manager, government programs at Express Scripts. "We are proud of our track record of success in administering Medicare prescription drug plans and that's due to our expertise in and commitment to member service."

Express Scripts serves millions of Medicare beneficiaries on behalf of our health plans, our Employer Group Waiver Plan (EGWP) clients as well as through our own national Express Scripts Medicare PDP, which has consistently earned high Center for Medicare Services (CMS) Star Ratings. In 2013, the plan earned four out of five possible stars – the highest of any nationally offered PDP.**

"We have the right people and processes to ensure Express Scripts consistently delivers advanced health and safety solutions, driven by a compliance-first culture, to meet the needs of the Medicare marketplace," said Pim. "We're committed to continuing investing in this area, developing and expanding programs that help Medicare beneficiaries and plan sponsors make better decisions and realize healthier outcomes."

Express Scripts Medicare Advisors and pharmacists are available 24 hours a day/7 days a week to help lower costs, alert beneficiaries to the Coverage Gap and offer guidance on ways to delay reaching it.

**A 2013 4-star-rated plan in 49 states and 3.5 stars in NY. Plan performance summary star ratings are assessed each year and may change from one year to the next.

About Express Scripts

Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) manages more than a billion prescriptions each year for tens of millions of patients. On behalf of our clients — employers, health plans, unions and government health programs — we make the use of prescription drugs safer and more affordable. Express Scripts uniquely combines three capabilities — behavioral sciences, clinical specialization and actionable data — to create Health Decision Science(SM), our innovative approach to help individuals make the best drug choices, pharmacy choices and health choices. Better decisions mean healthier outcomes.

Headquartered in St. Louis, Express Scripts provides integrated pharmacy-benefit management services, including network-pharmacy claims processing, home delivery, specialty benefit management, benefit-design consultation, drug-utilization review, formulary management, and medical and drug data analysis services. The company also distributes a full range of biopharmaceutical products and provides extensive cost-management and patient-care services.

For more information, visit Lab.Express-Scripts.com or follow @ExpressScripts on Twitter.

MEDIA CONTACT:
David Whitrap
Director, Corporate Communications
314-684-6514
[email protected]

INVESTOR CONTACT:
David Myers
Vice President, Investor Relations
314-810-3115
[email protected]

SOURCE Express Scripts