News Briefs
✦ During Centene Corp.’s Oct. 26 conference call to discuss third-quarter 2021 financial results, executives said the insurer will issue a request for proposals (RFP) in 2022 for PBM services. The move — which comes as Centene has been settling a spate of lawsuits filed by states over its PBM practices — is “going to be a huge opportunity for an external PBM,” Chief Financial Officer Drew Asher said during the company’s call with analysts. In addition to using its own internal PBM, Envolve Pharmacy Solutions, and a cloud-based platform that it has invested in, RxAdvance, Centene has a contract with CVS Health Corp.’s Caremark that expires at the end of 2023. The goal of putting out an RFP is to stay “sharp relative to our external partners” and to glean the “greatest economic benefit where we are leveraging an external partner” for a core capability, said Sarah London, vice chairman of Centene’s board of directors.
