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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCORRESPONDENCE - RFP - P682 BENEFITS (3)Administrative Services Purchasing Division City of Fort Collins September 21 1999 Mr Stuart L Bascomb Express Scripts 14000 Riverport Drive Maryland Heights MO 64043 Re #P-682- Prescription Benefits Dear Mr Bascomb The City of Fort Collins wishes to extend the agreement term for the above captioned proposal per the existing terms and conditions The term will be extended for one (1) additional year January 1 2000 through December 31 2000 If the renewal is acceptable to your firm please sign this letter in the space provided and return it to the City of Fort Collins Purchasing Division P O Box 580 Fort Collins CO 85022 within the next fifteen days If this extension is not agreeable with your firm we ask that you send us a written notice stating that you do not wish to renew the contract and state the reason for non -renewal If you have any questions regarding this matter please contact Carl Yost Buyer (970) 416-2247 Sinrely((�� ' ) D,� i LJam s B O Neill II CPPO Director of Purchasing and Risk Management cc Vincent Pascale Human Resources Proposal 682 Signature ,a/ti l9q Date (Please indicate your desire to renew Proposal #P-682 by signing this letter and returning it to Purchasing Division within the next fifteen days ) 256 W Mountain Avenue PO Box 580 • Fort Collins CO 80522 0580 0 (970) 2216775 • FAX (970) 221 6707 To James B OlNeill City of Fort C From Express Scripts 9 17 99 9 OOpm p l of 1 EXPRESS SCRIPTS Charting the !orate of Pharmacy September 17 1999 James B O Neill City of Fort Collins 256 W Mountain Avenue Fort Collms CO 80522 0580 Dear James B O Neill Over the past several days as Hurricane Floyd threatened the mid Atlantic states of our East Coast call volume in our Express Scripts Call Centers increased dramatically As a result some of your members and their families may have experienced delays in reaching our Call Center Representatives The threat of extreme weather along the Eastern U S is now abating and call volume is decreasing However we want you to know the proactive measures we implemented and our plans for dealing with similar situations in the future to minimize delays On Monday and Tuesday our call volume increased 15% to 20% at many of our Call Centers Most of the increase related to requests for early refills due to mandatory evacuations or inquiries about provider pharmacies in areas to which members were evacuating Through Wednesday as the United States Weather Bureau tracked the likely progress of the storm Express Scripts anticipated to the extent possible the geographical areas for which reasonable approval of early refills would be warranted In areas targeted for evacuation we alerted our network provider pharmacies to fill such requests At about 2 p in on Thursday we were forced to close our Call Center in Horsham, PA, near Philadelphia This was done for the safety of our people and to comply with an evacuation order issued by county authorities The Horsham Call Center remained active through our automated system Callers received an explanation of the situation and those with urgent needs were rerouted to our other centers Those without urgent needs were encouraged to call back the next day Rerouted callers were advised of the possibility of delay As you know the threat posed by Hurricane Floyd has abated and we are returning to normal volume in our Call Centers We regret any mcorivemence experienced by your members during the past several days Providing superior service is our goal —which is why we also want you to know that we are continuing to analyze the situation and developing proactive protocols for future emergencies in order to further reduce instances of mwirvenience to your members Sincerely David A. Lowenberg Chief Operating Officer Express Scripts To James B O'Neill City of Fort C From Express Scripts 8 31 99 8 03pm p 1 of 9 4 &PM88 Script' August 31 1999 James B O Neill City of Fort Collins 256 W Mountain Avenue Fort Collins CO 80522 0580 Dear James B O Neill C /q/Z\ -FY-r� at� 9,OTr,. Express Scripts is pleased to announce an agreement that voll unite the resources of yourPharmacy com with those of PlanetRx com This agreement will significantly expand and accelerate the capabilities of our online member services It also enables us to offer you a newpharmacy in our network accessible through the Internet that will both focus on the dispensing of prescriptions and offer a full line of over the -counter products yourPharmacy com and DrugDigest org will continue to be owned and operated by Express Scripts and provide access to Express Scripts services and health information Express Scripts w it retain responsibility for healthcare content on all sites including PlanetRx com used by Express Scripts members We carefully retained control over all content your members will see on PlanetRx cam to ensure that the Internet site voll support your plan design and formulary decisions Express Scripts expects to continue to invest heavily in the Internet to bring our plan sponsors and their members comprehensive Internet services —Internet services which help manage the pharmacy benefit By consolidating Express Scripts strengths with those of PlanetRx com we are able to bring to your members the best possible online pharmacy experience Express Scripts is recognized as a leading PBM wth extensive experlence In clinical and pharmacy management and PlanetRx com brings to the agreement Its reputation as the most highly rated pharmacy online Their management team has very strong credentials in distribution and operations and PlanetRx com is generally regarded as one of the best a commerce sites on the Web in terms of overall operational excellence The integration of services resulting from this agreement will bring greater convenience lower prices and better quality As a result we are confident that you and your members will find we offer the very best in online services The accompanying diagram illustrates the relationships between our sites You may access our online services through three portals through Express -Scripts com or yourPharmacy com as before —and now through PlanetRx com as well Each site will provide links to the others and easy navigation Whatever Web address you use to access our sites I can assure you of a satisfying customer experience Sincerely Barrett Toan President & CEO Express Scripts Inc Enclosures 1 Press release 2 Schematic overview To James N O'Neill City of Fort C From Express Scripts 8 31 99 8 03pm p 2 of 4 For immediate release Contact George Paz Chief Financial Officer Diana Baumohl VP Investor Relations (314) 770 1666 x67487 or x67333 EXPRESS SCRIPTS AND PLANETRX CON ANNOUNCE INTERNET PHARMACY AGREEMENT Combined Strengths Significantly Accelerate Express Scripts Online Capabilities ST LOUIS August 31 1999 Express Scripts Inc (NASD ESRX) the nation s largest Independent pharmacy benefit management firm today announced a definitive agreement with PlanetRx corn Inc The agreement will give Express Scripts a 19 9 percent ownership share in PlanetRx com which will serve as the exclusive Internet pharmacy for Express Scripts 36 million members Under the agreement Express Scripts will transfer the a commerce assets of its wholly owned Internet pharmacy subsidiary yourPharmacy com to PlanetRx com simultaneously with an initial public offering by PlanetRx com PlanetRx com will pay Express Scripts certain fees in excess of $11 million annually and will provide additional financial support for the further development of Express Scripts other Internet capabilities for five years with a potential five year extension Express Scripts will be PlanetRx com s preferred partner for pharmacy benefit management services and will receive one seat on the PlanetRx com board of directors Express Scripts and PlanetRx com together have created America s premier Internet pharmacy delivering immediate value to our members who can use their funded pharmacy benefit plan to buy prescriptions more conveniently online said Barrett Toan president and chief executive officer of Express Scripts PlanetRx com s excellent brand awareness technology and distribution infrastructure allow Express Scripts to accelerate our Internet pharmacy initiative Toan continued This relationship enables us to focus on delivering excellent pharmacy benefit services and health information to our clients and their members Under the agreement Express Scripts will promote PlanetRx com as Express Scripts exclusive Internet pharmacy to fill prescriptions and market other health and wellness products to Express Scripts plan members for five years with a potential five year extension Express Scripts which will retain ownership of the domain name yourPharmacy com will link PlanetRx com to yourPharmacy com and actively promote PlanetRx com Express Scripts privacy policies will be implemented by PlanetRx com for Express Scripts plan members William Razzouk chairman and chief executive officer of PlanetRx com said Express Scripts leadership as a pharmacy benefit manager its clinical expertise and its objective disciplined approach to prescription formulary development make Express Scripts the ideal partner for us We re uniting the benefits of PlanetRx com s strong commerce capabilities and Express Scripts strong content expertise to create an Internet community With outstanding information service quality and convenience for consumers seeking reliable information and prescription medications amid the growing drug Industry he continued To, James h 0198111 City of Fort C From Express Scripts 8 31 99 8i83pm p 3 of 9 Express Scripts will co -brand and market PlanetRx com The PlanetRx com site will contain prescription related and other healthcare content which will support Express Scripts client benefit designs and formulary decisions Express Scripts will use a portion of the annual fees received to promote the use of on line services to its members and to develop pharmacy benefit management related Internet content to assure that members receive the products and services requested by plan sponsors Express Scripts plans to use the cost method of accounting for the transaction and anticipates reporting a one time net gain in the fourth quarter of 1999 upon the transfer of yourPharmacy com assets However for tax purposes the asset transfer transaction will be tax free Express Scripts Inc is the nation s leading Independent full service pharmacy benefit management (PBM) and specialty managed care company Through facilities in seven states and Canada the company serves thousands of clients throughout North America Including managed care organizations insurance carriers third -party administrators employers and union sponsored benefit plans Express Scripts Is headquartered in St Louis Mo More information can be found at http lAwm express scripts com which includes expanded investor information and resources PlanetRx com Inc (www PlanetRx com) a leading Internet healthcare destination for commerce content and community delivers a convenient personalized and informed health and beauty shopping experience With products ranging from prescriptions to personal care items to the latest medical information PlanetRx com gives consumers the ability to manage their own healthcare in a convenient and secure environment Headquartered in South San Francisco the company operates its own pharmacy and distribution center in Memphis Tenn to ensure the highest quality customer care This press release contains forward looking statements including but not limited to statements related to the company s plans objectives expectations (financial and otherwise) or Intentions The company s actual results may differ significantly from those protected or suggested in any forward looking statements Certain factors relating to the announced transaction that might cause such a difference to occur include but are not limited to inability to consummate the transaction on its announced terms risks associated with the completion of the PlanetRx com Inc public offering the risks associated with ecommerce operations and the receptivity of clients to the companies co -marketing efforts Other factors that may impact these forward looking statements include but are not limited to (q competition including price competition competition in the bidding and proposal process and our ability to consummate contract negotiations with prospective clients (I) the possible termination of contracts with certain key clients or providers (m) the possible termination of contracts with certain pharmaceutical manufacturers changes in pricing discount rebate or other practices of pharmaceutical manufacturers (iv) adverse results in regulatory matters the adoption of adverse legislation or regulations more aggressive enforcement of existing legislation or regulations or a change in the Interpretation of existing legislation or regulations (v) developments In the healthcare Industry including the impact of increases in healthcare costs changes in drug utilization patterns and introductions of new drugs (vq risks associated wrath the Year 2000 issue (vu) other risks described from time to time in our filings moth the Securities and Exchange Commission The company does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to such forward looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events ##q To James B 019e111 City of Fort C From Express Scripts 8 31 99 8 03pm p 4 of 4 EXPRESS SCRIPTS, INC. Internet Capabilities* www Drug (test org Focused on Drug and Medical In formation • Here s the latest information an new asthma treatments for my son • How does that new herbal remedy work? Pcaduig the AL ssful IPO of PlarictRx cum www Express -Scripts com www yourPharmacy com Focused on Member Services vo • A map that shows the pharmacy closest to my office is only two miles away • Before I go to the pharmacy I wilt check my co pay for this prescnptron • Can you please give me the status of my order+ www Planeth com Focused on Customer Ordering and Fulfillment 0• • I can order my go day and yo day prescriptions online • What a convenience to purchase shampoo and aspirin through the Internet