December 8, 2022
As mentioned in the November Producer News, Kroger notified Express Scripts, Inc. (ESI) of its intent to end their pharmacy provider agreement effective January 1, 2023. ESI is an independent company providing online prescription and pharmacy services to Premera Blue Cross and Premera Blue Cross Shield of Alaska.
Letters were sent to members by both ESI and Premera, offering pharmacy options in their area.
In Alaska there are a total of 137 in-network pharmacies. Of those, only 11 are Fred Meyer (Kroger) pharmacies (8% of pharmacies in AK are Kroger). All members have at least one other pharmacy near them, usually within a 5-mile radius of their current pharmacy.
We’re encouraging our members impacted by this change in pharmacies to transfer their prescriptions to another pharmacy, or sign-up for mail order, before their next refill. Members can easily transfer prescriptions to ESI mail-order through the Premera.com website. This is a great option for members with maintenance medications (those filled regularly). If a member has a new prescription, they can request their provider e-prescribe or fax a 3-month supply request or the member can use the ESI online site to request a new prescription online.