PacifiCare Comments on Final Medicare Modernization Act Regulations Re

CYPRESS, Calif., Jan. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The following is a statement from Howard Phanstiel, chairman and chief executive officer of PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. , in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) release today of the final regulations of the Medicare Modernization Act:

"We are encouraged that CMS continues to demonstrate its commitment to be a good business partner with the private sector as demonstrated by its release of the final Medicare Modernization Act regulations. The task of implementing new rules to effect the historic changes to the Medicare program has been a tremendous undertaking, and we salute CMS for its efforts.

"Further, we appreciate that CMS has worked diligently with the many different stakeholders with interest in these regulations to develop workable solutions to complex operational issues.

"We are pleased with the final version of the Part D formulary Model Guidelines recently announced by the United States Pharmacopeia. We believe that they provide flexibility, allow health plans to follow existing and customary formulary processes and can serve as a template for health plan Part D formularies. PacifiCare has a strong track record of providing affordable prescription drug benefits for seniors, and we look forward to working with CMS to develop a comprehensive pharmacy benefit for Medicare beneficiaries that is not only affordable but flexible and seamless.

"PacifiCare will continue our ongoing and diligent review of the final regulations and work quickly to map out the optimum implementation opportunities. We expect to comment on specifics regarding the final regulations once we have had the opportunity to fully and systematically review them.

"Our commitment continues to be to offer more affordable and flexible health plan choices to seniors and to deliver a more comprehensive prescription drug benefit for not only our more than 700,000 Medicare Advantage members but all Medicare beneficiaries."

About PacifiCare

PacifiCare Health Systems is one of the nation's largest consumer health organizations with more than 3 million health plan members and approximately 10 million specialty plan members nationwide. PacifiCare offers individuals, employers and Medicare beneficiaries a variety of consumer-driven health care and life insurance products. Currently, more than 99 percent of PacifiCare's commercial health plan members are enrolled in plans that have received Excellent Accreditation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). PacifiCare's specialty operations include behavioral health, dental and vision, and complete pharmacy benefit management through its wholly owned subsidiary, Prescription Solutions. More information on PacifiCare Health Systems is available at http://www.pacificare.com/.