MAIL-MEDS,

MSEA PARTNERSHIP FLOURISHES IN FIRST YEAR

Maryland State Employee Association members reap benefits of Mail-Meds program


ROCKVILLE, Md. Youre late! the manager shouted at Melissa as she dashed through the
back door. Weve been busy all night. You have two tables waiting for you. Get to work!
Melissa Smith tried to explain that she was stuck in traffic after her first job of the
day, but there was no hope. It was just another busy day in Smiths life. As a single mother,
Smith juggles two jobs to support herself and her son. Her son has diabetes, but luckily
Smith has access to the Maryland State Employee Associations (MSEA) partnership with
HealthWay Pharmacies. The partnership between HealthWay and MSEA began one year
ago, and Smith was the partnerships first customer.
Im a busy mother, and access to the Mail-Meds program makes my life easier, said
Smith. I no longer have to worry about picking up prescriptions for my son. They always
show up at my house in a timely manner. HealthWay makes the process very easy.
The HealthWay franchise prides itself on its mission to be a community-driven,
family-friendly and highly convenient pharmacy. The entire Smith family can attest to the
realization of this missionnot only does Melissa Smith benefit from the MSEA
partnership; her father does as well.
At 75 years old, Melissa Smiths father, John Smith, takes advantage of the senior
citizen benefits included in the MSEA partnership. John Smith is in good companylast
year, 35 percent of customers who enrolled in the partnership were members of the MSEA
retirees health program.
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We are happy to provide our retirees with the Mail-Meds service as well as state
prescription subsidies, said MSEA Director of Health Insurance J.C. Smith.
While the MSEA partnership has increased the amount of Mail-Meds customers,
HealthWay has made changes to ensure the program runs smoothly. When the partnership
began last year, HealthWay opened a new processing facility in Rockville. This facility has
improved the quality of customer and prescription services, so that families like the Smiths
never have to worry about their medications.
Our Mail-Meds staff is dedicated to providing the best service for our MSEA
customers, said HealthWays Vice President of Operations Edwin Riley. Even as demand
rises, the staff focuses on customers needs.
Along with providing high levels of quality control for MSEA members, the Mail-
Meds program offers prescriptions that cost, on average, less than comparative
prescriptions. A MSEA survey of comparative prescription costs indicated that for 20 of the
most common mediations, the unit cost of the 90-day supply of prescriptions ordered
through the HealthWay Mail-Meds program was 25 percent below the unit cost of the same
medications purchased on a 30-day basis from walk-in pharmacies.
On top of their initial low prices, HealthWay honors Marylands prescription
subsidies. These subsidies help families like the Smiths afford all of their medications.
The cost, the convenience, the dedication HealthWay has it all, Melissa Smith
exclaimed. I love knowing that my son, my father and I will all be healthy, all the time. I
cant wait to see what the partnerships second year brings.
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