Specialty Drugs

Specialty drugs, in general, are high-cost prescription medications used to treat complex or chronic medical conditions, such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and hepatitis. These drugs are either self-administered (taken orally or self-injected) or administered by a medical professional in a doctor’s office or other medical facility. Specialty drugs usually require patient-specific dosing and careful clinical monitoring. They may also require special handling and refrigeration. View the specialty drug list.

We offer plans that provide different levels of coverage for specialty drugs. Some plans require members to get specialty drugs from our preferred specialty pharmacy vender, Caremark Specialty Pharmacy. On behalf of BlueCross, Caremark administers this program. Caremark is an independent company that dispenses specialty drugs and provides other related services.

Beginning April 1, 2012, CuraScript Specialty Pharmacy will replace Caremark Specialty Pharmacy as our new preferred specialty pharmacy vendor. On behalf of BlueCross, CuraScript will administer this program. CuraScript is an independent company that dispenses specialty drugs and provides other related services. After March 31, Caremark Specialty Pharmacy will be out of network and will not be covered under the pharmacy benefit.

Impact on members who take specialty drugs: Prescriptions with remaining refills at Caremark Specialty Pharmacy will be transferred to CuraScript on April 1. Members with active prescriptions at Caremark Specialty Pharmacy will receive information from BlueCross and CuraScript about this transition before April 1.

Members who are not sure how their health plan covers specialty drugs should check their benefits booklet or talk with their Benefits department. They can also log into My Health Toolkit® for their personal information.