Press Releases: 2003

Virginia Premier Health Plan Selects AmeriHealthMercy/PerformRx to Provide Pharmacy Care Management Services

June 20, 2003 - Philadelphia (PA) - AmeriHealth Mercy announced today that its PerformRx pharmacy care management program has been selected by Virginia Premier Health Plan to provide pharmacy management to its 72,000 members.

AmeriHealth Mercy/PerformRx will provide drug utilization review/management, formulary/rebate management, and assistance with pharmacy case management programs effective July 1, 2003. In partnership with AmeriHealth Mercy, Argus Health Systems, Inc. will manage the claims processing. PerformRx is the only pharmacy benefit management program that specializes exclusively in Medicaid managed care organizations.

"After reviewing many potential pharmacy benefit management companies, we chose AmeriHealth Mercy/PerformRx for its proven track record of providing quality pharmacy services to the Medicaid population while reducing costs. AmeriHealth Mercy's goals are very similar to those of the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System: providing excellent healthcare for citizens of Virginia," said Dr. Hermes Kontos, CEO of the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System.

"We are very pleased that Virginia Premier Health Plan has chosen AmeriHealth Mercy's PerformRx pharmacy care management solution," said Daniel J. Hilferty, President and CEO of AmeriHealth Mercy. "With our Medicaid-only focus, we are committed and well positioned to meet the special needs of Virginia Premier members throughout the Commonwealth through our pharmacy care management programs and value-added community outreach programs. Our two companies share a tradition of quality care and value to our members. We look forward to our partnership with Virginia Premier Health Plan."

"Argus is excited to work with the AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Companies in support of Virginia Premier Health Plan because both companies take an innovative approach to health care. We look forward to serving Virginia Premier's Medicaid population with our distinctive approach," said Charles W. Schellhorn, President of Argus Health Systems.

Virginia Premier Health Plan is a Medicaid Managed Care Organization based in Richmond, Virginia. The plan, which is owned by the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, provides service to approximately 72,000 members in 75 counties throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.

With more than 20 years of experience exclusively serving the Medicaid population, the AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Companies and its affiliates comprise the largest family of Medicaid managed care plans in the United States, touching the lives of more than one million members in five states, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Kentucky, South Carolina and Virginia.

Argus Health Systems has partnered with the AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Companies since 1999 to provide state of the art pharmacy claims processing, reporting, and rebate administration services for the Keystone Mercy Health Plan and other the AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Companies affiliated organizations. Argus Health Systems, Inc. is the country's leading independent provider of claims processing, information services and administrative support for pharmacy program management.