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, ...

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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