Albany County approves contract with Health Insurance Solutions Inc. for employee prescription administration

The Albany County Board of Commissioners voted during a regular meeting to approve a contract with Health Insurance Solutions Incorporated (HISSE) to administer the county's prescription drug program for employees and covered members.

Shannon, a representative of Health Insurance Solutions Incorporated, told the board the county has worked with HISSE since 2020 and that the program "provides outreach to patients for review on potential cost reductions for alternative medications to treat covered members illness and injury while ensuring equal or better outcomes." She said pharmacy costs per covered life fell from about $2,900 in 2020 to roughly $2,600, a 9.9% reduction, and that the county realized about $1.4 million in savings from 2020 to 2021.

The vendor described the work in three phases: a reduction of the 29 most expensive specialty drugs that the presenter said saved about $6.8 million; a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) contract rebate audit that saved…