OptumRx, a leading pharmacy care services company that is part of
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), has donated more than $10 million in
unused medications to help Kansans in need under Kansas’s Unused
Medication Donation Program.
OptumRx CEO Tim Wicks, announces that the company's largest home delivery pharmacy in Overland Park, Kansas recently surpassed donations of more than $10 million in unused life-saving medications to federally qualified health centers taking care of Kansans in need. (left to right) Governor Sam Brownback, Optum CEO Tim Wicks, Lt. Governor Jeff Colyer, Amber Giron, Health Partnership Clinic of Johnson County (Photo: Optum)
The company’s prescription medication donations that benefit thousands
of Kansans are a result of an OptumRx pharmacist noticing scores of
unused and returned medications going to waste. Subsequently, Optum
worked with the Kansas Legislature and the Kansas Board of Pharmacy to
develop the "Utilization of Unused Medications Act," which passed in
2008 and went into effect in 2009. The first such legislation in the
nation, it enables adult-care homes, mail-service pharmacies and medical
care facilities in Kansas to donate unused medications in their original
or pharmacist-sealed packaging to safety-net clinics and Federally
Qualified Health Centers in the Sunflower State.
“The Kansas Unused Medication Donation program is a great example of the
private sector and government working together to help those in need. I
applaud OptumRx for its commitment to serving Kansans in need, and I
look forward to its continued role as a major employer and engaged
corporate citizen in our state,” said Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback at an
event celebrating the donation milestone at OptumRx’s Overland Park
facility.
OptumRx began making donations to the program upon its inception and
recently reached the $10 million mark. Most of OptumRx’s donated
medications are sent to the Kansas State Board of Pharmacy’s official
repository administered by Community Health Centers of Southeast Kansas.
The medications are distributed from there to 38 clinics throughout the
state.
”Our participation in the Unused Medication Donation Program is making a
difference in the lives of thousands of Kansans who often lack access to
the affordable medications they need every day,” said Tim Wicks, CEO of
OptumRx. “We’re pleased to have donated $10 million in unused
medications since 2009, and we expect to donate millions of dollars more
in the coming years.”
“Donations from companies like OptumRx make it possible for our patients
to live longer, healthier lives by giving them access to potentially
life-saving medications. I join the dozens of benefiting clinics across
Kansas in applauding OptumRx for recognizing the positive impact that
unused medications donations have on the health of Kansans,” said Jason
Wesco, CEO of Health Partnership Clinic in Olathe and Paola.
OptumRx is one of the Optum companies of UnitedHealth Group. Optum
employs more than 2,000 people in Overland Park and across the greater
Kansas City area.
About OptumRx
OptumRx is an innovative pharmacy care
services company managing the prescription drug benefits of commercial,
Medicare, Medicaid and other governmental health plans, as well as those
of employers and unions through a national network of 67,000 community
pharmacies and state-of-the-art home delivery pharmacies in California
and Kansas, both of which have earned the prestigious Verified Internet
Pharmacy Practice Sites™ (VIPPS) accreditation by the National
Association of Boards of Pharmacy and full accreditation for Mail
Service Pharmacy from URAC, an independent, national nonprofit
organization, well-known as a leader in promoting health care quality
through its accreditation and education programs. OptumRx is part of
Optum, a leading information and technology-enabled health services
business dedicated to making the health system work better for everyone.
Visit www.optum.com
for more information.
About Optum
Optum is a leading information and
technology-enabled health services business dedicated to helping make
the health system work better for everyone. With more than 80,000 people
worldwide, Optum delivers intelligent, integrated solutions that help to
modernize the health system and improve overall population health. Optum
is part of the UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH).
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