Mail Service: Medco by Mail

If your PEHP benefit plan includes a mail-order program, you can enjoy the convenience of purchasing a 90-day supply of your maintenance medication at Medco's mail-order facility. Maintenance medications are the only drugs available through PEHP's mail-order program. Maintenance drugs are prescribed to treat chronic conditions as defined by the FDA or PEHP.

Examples of maintenance medications available through the mail-order program include:

• Diabetes medications
• Anticonvulsants
• Birth control pills
• Blood pressure drugs
• Asthma medications
• Antidepressants
• Sleeping Pills
• Cholesterol lowering agents

Examples of medications not available through mail-order include:

• Antibiotics
• Anti-anxiety
• Anti-migraine
• Cough and cold products
• Pain medications
• Muscle relaxants

Refer to the PEHP Preferred Drug List (http://www.pehp.org/general/pdf/PreferredDrugList_Web.pdf) to find out if your medication is available through PEHP's mail order program. You may also contact PEHP's Customer Service for more information. 
The advantages of using Medco By Mail:

• Get up to a 90-day supply of each covered medication for just one mail-order co-payment (subject to plan limitations, rules, and state regulations).
• Registered pharmacists are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Order refills online, by mail, or by phone - anytime day or night. To order online, register at www.medco.com . Refills are usually delivered within 3 to 5 days after Medco receives your order.
• Choose a convenient payment options - check, money order, credit card, or Medco's automatic payment program
• Standard shipping is free.

Could my mail-order prescription be delayed?
Medco has a good track record for quickly filling prescriptions, but certain things could delay shipment:

• Missing information.
• Prescription not written for a 90-day supply.
• No refills.
• Drug interactions.
• Uncommon dosages.
• Lack of pre-authorization when required.
• Mail-order prescriptions may also be delayed if a duplicate prescription is filled at a local pharmacy within 10 days of requesting a mail-order prescription.
• Avoid ordering a refill before 75% (68 days) of their prescription is gone. The mail-order facility will view the order as too early to fill.
• You should always have a two-week supply of medication on hand to allow time for delivery.
• Be aware that the mail-order facility is unable to supply a medication if the manufacturer cannot supply the drug.

The mail-order facility may also contact providers to see if they may substitute a brand name prescription with an equivalent generic drug when one is available. You should reserve the mail-order for those medications that are used for a chronic disease. To ensure that a medication will work for our Members, PEHP recommends that first time prescriptions be filled at a local pharmacy to ensure that there are no adverse effects.

How to start saving with Medco By Mail

• When using Medco By Mail, be sure to ask your doctor to write a prescription for a 90-day supply of each medication (plus refills for up to 1 year, if appropriate).
• Fill out a Medco By Mail order form and send the completed information, your prescription, and your payment option to the address provided on the order form. Your medication will usually be delivered within 8 days after Medco receives your order. Download mail Order form here
• If you are currently taking a medication, be sure to have at least a 14-day supply on hand when ordering. If you don't have enough, ask your doctor to give you a second prescription for a 14-day supply and fill it at a participating retail pharmacy while your mail-order prescription is being processed.
• You can also choose to sign up for Medco By Mail online. To register, visit www.medco.com and follow the easy instructions. Once you have registered, click "Order center" and follow the instructions. Medco will contact your doctor to transfer your current prescriptions to Medco By Mail.