| Type | Public company S&P 500 Component |
|---|---|
| Traded as | NASDAQ: ESRX |
| Industry | Healthcare, Pharmacy Benefit Management |
| Founded | St. Louis, Missouri (1986) |
| Headquarters | St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Key people | George Paz, President and CEO Jeffrey Hall, CFO |
| Products | Prescription Benefit Management, Specialty Prescription Management |
| Revenue | $44.9732 billion USD (2010)[1] |
| Net income | $1.2046 billion USD (2010)[1] |
| Employees | 13,170 (2010)[1] |
| Website | express-scripts.com/ |
Express Scripts, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESRX) is a Fortune 100 company[2] headquartered in Cool Valley, Missouri. It began in 1986 in St. Louis, Missouri as a result of a joint venture between a retail chain of more than 79 pharmacies (Medicare Glaser Inc.) and Sanus Corp. Health Systems. Express Scripts was purchased by New York Life Insurance Company in 1989 and became a publicly traded company in 1992. Through expansion of its client base, product lines and several acquisitions (ValueRx, Diversified Pharmaceutical Services, and National Prescription Administrators (NPA)) Express Scripts currently employs over 13,000.[1]
Express Scripts is a pharmacy benefit manager. The company processes pharmaceutical claims for members at network pharmacies and at their own mail order pharmacies. They provide services to manage drug plans for government agencies (both as administrator of employee benefits and public assistance programs), corporations, and unions. One of their largest clients is the United States Department of Defense's TRICARE program.[1]
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ValueRx was formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1987 through the merger of Medicost, a small prescription drug claims processor and Health Information Design, a specialty drug utilization review company. The company was purchased by Value Health in 1988. After a series of mergers and acquisitions, ValueRx became the largest Value Health subsidiary, employing 1,400 people across the United States. Express Scripts purchased ValueRx on April 1, 1998.[3]
On February 25, 2002, Express Scripts completed the acquisition of the assets of Phoenix Marketing Group (Holdings), Inc. Phoenix Marketing Group is the largest full-service prescription drug sample fulfillment provider in the United States.
In the first quarter of 2004 Express Scripts acquired CuraScript, Inc, a specialty pharmacy located primarily in Orlando, FL.
On October 14, 2005 Express Scripts Completed the Acquisition of Priority Healthcare and now has integrated the line of business with its wholly owned specialty pharmacy subsidiary CuraScript.
In late December 2006, Express Scripts made a proposal to purchase Caremark. Express Scripts lost the race to acquire Caremark to CVS Corporation, which became CVS/Caremark Corporation on March 22, 2007.
In October 2007, Express Scripts acquired ConnectYourCare, and now handles FSA, HRA and HSA accounts for companies such as Suntrust, Zions Bancorp and Allegis.
On April 13, 2009 it was announced that Indianapolis based WellPoint had reached a definitive agreement under which Saint Louis based Express Scripts will acquire WellPoint's NextRx subsidiaries for $4.675 billion4[4] Express Scripts, the United States third largest PBM, closed the transaction in December 2009.[5]
As of 2010, Express Scripts employed over 13,000 people.[1] The corporate headquarters is located in Cool Valley, Missouri with major North America sites in Albuquerque, NM; East Hanover, NJ; Bensalem, PA; Bloomington, MN; Orlando, FL; New Castle, DE; Farmington Hills, MI; Harrisburg, PA; Pueblo, CO; St. Marys, GA; Tempe, AZ; Troy, NY; Mason, OH; Indianapolis, IN; Oldsmar, FL; West Hills, CA; Washington, DC Mississauga, Ontario; and Montreal, Quebec.
On August 4, 2004, New York state Attorney General Elliot Spitzer filed a lawsuit against Express Scripts alleging that the company had kept tens of millions of dollars in drug rebates owed to the state. The suit was filed in the state Supreme Court in Albany County.[6] The lawsuit further claimed that Express Scripts had overstated the cost benefits of switching to certain preferred medications. In 2008 the company settled the lawsuit, agreeing to pay $9.3 million to Pennsylvania and 28 other states to resolve claims of deceptive business practices. As part of the settlement, the company also agreed to change its business practices and pay up to $200,000 in reimbursement to patients.[7]
in October 2008, the St.Louis headquarters received an anonymous letter that contained names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and some prescription information of 75 members.[8] The cyberextortionist stated that they had millions more of similar records and would release them if the company failed to pay an unspecified amount of money. Clients associated with the company also received similar threatening letters. A $ 1 million award was offered by the pharmacy benefits management firm for any information that would lead to the conviction of the individual or group.[9]
By November, about 700,000 clients were notified that their information may have been compromised. A consumer class action lawsuit against Express Scripts was brought on by John Amburgy, a Missouri man who accused the company of negligence in protecting customer records. He also accused the company of breach of contract, breach of implied contract, and violations of data breach notification laws in various states. Amburgy claimed that due to the data breach, he and various others affected by the incident were at increased risk of identity theft and extortion. However, Amburgy failed to show how he was directly affected by the breach and the lawsuit was dismissed.[10]
On September 19, 2007, Specialty Distribution Services Inc., a subsidiary of Express Scripts Inc., under an agreement with federal prosecutors, agreed to pay a $10.5 million penalty and cooperate with ongoing law enforcement investigations for distributing human growth hormone to "well known athletes and entertainers".[11]
Express Scripts Consumerology® Advisory Board was founded to advance the company's understanding of human behavior and assist with the translation of this understanding to improve health outcomes. The Advisory Board tracks emerging findings from the allied fields of the behavioral sciences. This board consists of national academics with expertise in consumer behavior related to the pharmacy benefit, and conduct research into employee communications, health benefits design and health care delivery rooted in behavioral economics.
Currently, the Consumerology® Advisory Board is engaging employees in pilot projects that explore healthcare purchasing and consumer behavior issues. The company states that the goal of these tailored programs is improved health outcomes and lower-cost care.[12][13][14][15][16][17]
On June 8, 2007, Express Scripts opened its new world headquarters at the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.[18] The new building houses nearly 2,500 employees and is used concurrently with the former corporate site in the Riverport Business Complex, which is located in Maryland Heights.[19][20] near the unincorporated St. Louis County community of Earth City.[21]