Examiners approve 2 multi-million dollar contracts

The Board of Examiners on Tuesday approved two major contracts including hiring a new pharmacy benefits manager for the State of Nevada Public Employee Benefits Program.

The five-year contract with Express Scripts, Inc., is worth a total of $226.5 million.

PEBP Executive Director Damon Haycock said Express Scripts will take over July 1, providing ongoing pharmaceutical benefit management services to all participants including state workers, retirees, non-state employees and family members covered by the state plan.

The company will provide all the services under the contract including claims adjudication, on-line pricing, specialty drug pharmaceuticals, on-line ordering, accounting and administrative services.

Haycock said the vast majority of the money will go to providing the pharmaceuticals to participants in the plan and the company’s administrative fees will only amount to $3-$3.5 million over the five year contract.

Asked whether the state and employees would have to pay more under the new contract, he said this contract enabled PEBP to reduce costs buy about $4 million a year, “which helped us keep rates flat this next year.”

The cost of the contract is paid 73 percent by the state with the remaining costs covered by participant premiums.

In addition, the board consisting of the governor, secretary of state and attorney general approved a $75 million contract to create and install a completely new computer program for the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Director Terri Albertson told the board the contract with Tech Mahindra Ltd. will provide better customer service, reduce transaction and processing time, enhance security and reduce the system backlog. She said the old system is based on the computer program Cobol which is now outdated and requires extensive work to make any meaningful modifications to the system.

“We’re looking now for a consolidated platform that will be flexible, agile and customer friendly,” she said.

Albertson said the goal is to enable DMV customers to do much more on line, on their phones and other platforms, and only come to a DMV office when it’s absolutely necessary.

“This is going to get us ahead of the game,” she said.