County moves to approve switch to Northwind pharmacy manager pending vendor vetting

Adams County commissioners voted to approve pursuing a change in the county's pharmacy benefit manager from the current administrator to Northwind, an Indianapolis-based PBM, pending final vetting by the county's third-party administrator. The commissioners made the decision after a presentation on the vendor's pricing transparency, clinical support and projected savings.

The county's benefits presenter said, "We are charged a $6 per employee per member fee for the month, and that is the only charge outside of clinical support that they have involved in their pricing." That fee would replace spread-pricing opacity the presenter said the county currently sees under the existing vendor. The presenter also told commissioners Northwind projected roughly $128,000 in annual…