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Rankin County staff outline pharmacy benefits vendor switch and potential copay changes
Summary
County consultants told the board the drug benefits manager will change to Verus RX on April 1; they recommended either sourcing one high-cost drug ("zepbound" in the transcript) internationally or raising retail copays to reduce county drug spend.
County staff and a benefits presenter briefed the board March 16 on planned changes to the county's pharmacy benefit management. The county will switch from Blue Cross to Verus RX effective April 1; ID cards and informational flyers will be mailed to members around March 20, staff said.
The presenter highlighted a set of 10 drugs responsible for a large share of drug spend, and singled out one medicine referenced in the packet and discussion as "zepbound" with 807 fills in 2025 and an average retail cost of $893. The presenter said the same drug, when filled through international sourcing, cost an average of $675 in December–January, a roughly $200 per-fill savings, and recommended the board consider requiring that drug be obtained only through international sourcing to realize those savings.
An alternative proposal offered was to increase the retail copay for drugs that remain available locally from $200 to $300; presenters noted manufacturer copay assistance programs can partially offset members' copays in some cases and that raising the copay would accelerate when that assistance is exhausted. Presenters also described operational steps: Verus will proactively notify the county's top 50 pharmacy partners and the county will distribute ID cards to members.
Supervisors said they would confer with the county benefits administrator (Keith) and follow up on options before the April 1 go-live date. The board did not take a formal vote on benefit design changes during the meeting; staff said Verus will go live April 1 and implementation work is underway.
Note: drug names and manufacturer programs noted in meeting materials were presented verbally; the transcript uses the spelling "zepbound."
