Effective July 1, 2021, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont will transition from Express Scripts to a new pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) to provide prescription drug services to our employees. This new prescription drug provider is Vermont Blue Rx (managed by Optum Rx).   

What does this mean to UVM employees?

• The formulary (list of approved drugs) used by Vermont Blue Rx will have slight differences from the one currently used by Express Scripts.
• UVM prescription drug benefits and co-payment tiers will remain the same, but some drugs may change categories (Generic, Preferred, or Non-Preferred).  It is estimated that 4% will move to a lower co-pay and 4% of drugs will move to a higher co-pay category (92% will be unchanged). Please see the list of currently prescribed affected drugs.
• Employees affected by the change in formulary where their co-payment is expected to increase or their currently prescribed drug is excluded will receive detailed instructions in the mail. Employees may choose to work with their health care provider to switch to a lower cost equivalent drug or request an exclusion exception, if deemed medically necessary.

Please be on the lookout for postal mailings from Vermont Blue Rx on how you may be impacted and what you can do to prepare for this transition. Answers to frequently asked questions are available online.

New Blue Cross Blue Shield ID cards will be mailed to employees in June.

If you have specific questions regarding the upcoming pharmacy transition, please call Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont Customer Service at 1-888-222-7886.