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3 apply for prescription drugs services
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Posted on Feb 12 2006
Three of the four companies wanting to be the NMI Retirement Fund’s third party administrator for health insurance program also want to provide prescription drug benefit management services.
The Fund earlier issued separate requests for third party administration and drug benefit management services.
Four companies turned in their proposals: Hawaii Pacific Medical Referral, Calvo’s, Aetna, and Pharmacare.
Fund administrator Karl T. Reyes said only HPMR did not submit a proposal for the drugs services.
“It wants to do away with the prescription drugs services,” said Reyes.
HPMR has a 12-month extended contract with the Fund as third party administrator.
This contract includes the prescription drug benefit management services, which it reportedly subcontracts with Rx America.
Reyes said, though, that HPMR’s decision to take out the drugs services aspect would not be taken against its proposal.
He said the Fund intends to sign two separate contracts for those services pursuant to the Request for Proposals.
He said those contracts may be given to two different companies.
“It’s possible that one company is doing the third party administration while another company is doing the prescription drugs,” he said.
The Fund has formed a committee to review the proposals.
Another committee will be formed to negotiate with the top two proposers.
Reyes said this process will take some time as information given by all four companies will have to be verified.
He said the selection does not exactly depend on lowest offer but on the cost-effectiveness of the services.
“This work takes time. We’d do a lot of counter-checking information,” he said.
The government is seeking for a three-year service contract with a third party administrator and prescription drugs.
The issuance of new RFPs came following the CNMI government’s rejection of a privatization program for the group health plan.
The Fund said that the proposed privatization would result in tremendous increase in rates.
