Six years of partnership deepened to cover all lines of business, including innovative programs to improve the member and provider experience.
San Juan, PR – Triple-S Salud (“Triple-S”), the managed care subsidiary of Triple-S Management Corporation (NYSE: GTS) and independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) Association in Puerto Rico, and Abarca, the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) that is disrupting the industry with its novel approach to technology and business partnership, announced that effective January 1, 2019, the companies are expanding their relationship to cover all lines of business for which Triple-S contracts PBM services and extending their partnership for three additional years.
“Triple-S and Abarca share a deep commitment to improving the healthcare experience in Puerto Rico,” said Roberto García-Rodríguez, Chief Executive Officer of Triple-S Management. “With innovation and market-leading scale, together, we will improve our ability to deliver high quality, accessible, and affordable healthcare to Puerto Ricans of every age, health status, and income level.”
“Triple-S has worked with many PBMs over the years, but our experience with Abarca has been unique,” added Madeline Hernández-Urquiza, EVP & Chief Operations Officer of Triple-S Management and President of Triple-S Salud and Triple-S Advantage. “After a thorough selection process, we determined that by consolidating our business with Abarca, we will ensure market-leading financial value without sacrificing the innovation, flexibility, and responsiveness that Triple-S and our clients need.”
Triple-S is the managed care market leader in Puerto Rico, delivering a broad portfolio of health and related products to more than 1 million members in the Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, Commercial and Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) markets under the BCBS marks. Until today, Abarca has provided the full suite of PBM and clinical support services, such as medication therapy management and adherence programs, Triple-S Medicare Advantage programs, and certain fully insured and self-insured groups in Triple-S’ Commercial segment.
Over the past three years, Abarca and Triple-S have launched bold new initiatives, including value-based contracts with pharma companies for high-cost medications, quality and performance-based pharmacy networks, and clinical programs to improve outcomes and reduce the costs for patients with Hepatitis C. These programs are delivered using Darwin, the most advanced, integrated pharmacy benefit management platform in the industry.
“We have been working side-by-side with Triple-S for the past six years and have accomplished incredible things together, including 5-star ratings in Medicare Part D for the past two years,” said Jason Borschow, Chief Executive Officer of Abarca. “As we deepen our partnership with Triple-S, we look forward to deploying game-changing improvements to the customer experience for Triple-S members, providers, and other key stakeholders. We’re just getting started.”
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