Tennessee: Groups demand transparency on pending state contract

NASHVILLE — Two groups are urging the Bredesen administration to put a priority on “transparency and accountability” when it comes to deciding the winner of a $300 million contract for handling state employees’ prescription drug benefits.

“Close oversight and a clear understanding of the actual costs of prescription drugs are vital to achieving real savings,” said Tennessee Citizen Action, a self-styled consumer advocacy group, and the national Change to Win, a union-backed consumer advocacy group, in a joint news release.

Both groups are raising questions about CVS Caremark, the nation’s largest pharmacy services company, which is one of four companies seeking the state’s business.

“This contract provides a clear opportunity for the state to save money and enhance oversight of health care expenditures,” Citizen Action executive director Tom Peters said. “CVS Caremark has a track record that raises questions about whether it will provide the transparent and cost-effective services taxpayers deserve.”

The groups cited what they contend are CVS Caremark contract losses in other states, lawsuits from former clients and a Federal Trade Commission investigation into the company practices.

The Tennessee Benefits Administration is expected to make a recommendation on a contract award in the next week, the groups said.

Asked about the groups’ contentions, Joe Burchfield, a spokesman for the benefits administration and the State Insurance Committee, said, “we can’t discuss it because it’s still actively being reviewed.”

He said the State Insurance Committee and two other insurance committees will take up the contract issue on Wednesday.

He said four companies, CaremarkPCS Health, Cigna Pharmacy Management, CatalystRx and RxSolutions Inc. (doing business as Prescription Solutions) are seeking the business.