Vital Care of Meridian wins partial summary judgment

Published 8:30 am Sunday, November 14, 2010

By from submitted reports
The Meridian Star

    Vital Care of Meridian has won a partial summary judgment motion against the Mississippi State and School Employees’ Life and Health Plan, a state insurance plan that covers certain state employees, and its pharmacy benefit manager, Catalyst RX, one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit managers that acts on behalf of the Plan. 

    The lawsuit is currently in progress on remaining issues, but a major component of the lawsuit claims that the Plan and Catalyst have violated Mississippi’s “Any Willing Provider” statute when they awarded sole provider status for specialty pharmacy services to a single specialty pharmacy, to the exclusion of Vital Care and other specialty pharmacies in Mississippi, company officials said.

     The Plan and Catalyst argued that the Statute did not apply to them for a variety of reasons, but the arguments were struck down by a Mississippi Court.  This case will likely serve as precedent for several other similar cases across the country in those states where payer plans are excluding specialty pharmacies as providers, company officials said.

    Vital Care is represented by the McDonald Hopkins law firm from Chicago, Illinois.  “Our lawyers were great.  They really understand the complexities of this business and were able to explain the issues to the Court in clear and concise terms,” said Jonathan Bell, President of Vital Care. 

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    “We believed that the language of the statute was clear, and that it unambiguously applied to the Plan,” stated Vital Care’s Director of Clinical Services, Logan Davis.  “It is logical that the law concerning health plans in Mississippi would apply to a state-funded health plan.  We are very pleased with the ruling of the Court, and we hope that subsequent rulings solidify patients’ choice of pharmacy in Mississippi.”

    Vital Care of Meridian is an integrated home infusion, specialty, and compounding pharmacy offering cost effective treatment options for acute and chronic medical conditions to patients and providers throughout several states.  Founded in 1986, it has been an innovator in the East Mississippi and West Alabama health care community for over 20 years.