If you elect medical coverage through Plan HRA (including Health Reimbursement Account) or Plan HSA (including Health Savings Account) with Aetna or UnitedHealthcare, you will automatically be enrolled for prescription drug coverage through CVS Caremark. (Those enrolled in the Kaiser Permanente, HMSA or Aetna International plans will receive prescription coverage through their medical carrier.) The CVS Caremark prescription plan offers lower prices for generic drugs, a mail order option for maintenance medications and coverage for specialty drugs. This prescription plan also requires mandatory generic substitution.

For maintenance drugs, you have the choice of CVS/pharmacy or CVS Caremark Mail Service. If you use maintenance drugs, you may fill a 30-day prescription twice at the retail level, then future fills must be completed through the mail order service in 90-day quantities. You also may pick up a 90-day supply through the Maintenance Choice program at any CVS pharmacy location.

Under Plan HRA, all covered prescription drugs are subject to the traditional four-tier prescription drug schedule (generic copayments, formulary, non-formulary and specialty drug coinsurance).

Under Plan HSA, non-preventive prescription drugs are subject to the deductible/coinsurance provisions, but preventive prescription drugs are covered under the traditional four-tier prescription drug schedule, offering low copayments for generic drugs and coinsurance for formulary, non-formulary and specialty drugs.

As required by the Affordable Care Act, prescription drug expenses under both health plans now count toward the out-of-pocket maximum.

The Prescription Drug Formulary is updated for 2016 and can be accessed at www.caremark.com/acdruglist. If you currently take prescription drugs or need prescription drugs during 2016, it is important that you review this formulary list with your doctor. If your prescribed drug is not on the list, discuss with your doctor whether your treatment plan can include a generic alternative or, if not available or tolerated, a high-quality, preferred name-brand drug included in the new Advanced Control Drug Formulary.

Due to the lack of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for many ingredients included in compounds and the high cost of these compounded medications, they may not be covered by your prescription plan or may require a prior authorization. If the compound ingredients are not covered, you will be responsible for the full cost of those ingredients. In situations where the compound ingredients are covered through prior authorization, you will pay the share of the cost specified by your prescription benefits.

Prescription drugs that have an over-the-counter (OTC) equivalent are not covered by either of the BNY Mellon health plans.

Preventive drugs are medications that can help prevent a health condition from developing. Examples include blood pressure and cholesterol-lowering medications that may prevent heart attacks and strokes; see the comprehensive Preventive Therapy Drug List. Note: Some strengths or dosage forms may not be included in the list. Please call CVS Caremark at 1-800-685-4130 if you have questions.

Specialty drugs are prescriptions that are used for the treatment of complex, chronic conditions such as hepatitis, hemophilia, and cancer.

CVS Caremark offers a program for specialty injectable and oral drugs that can provide you with greater convenience, including express delivery, follow-up care calls, expert counseling and superior service. Specialty drug prescriptions can also be filled at CVS retail pharmacies. Also, CVS/pharmacy locations with a MinuteClinic® have a service that provides education regarding the medication or injectables you are taking.

The prescription drug Step Therapy program helps ensure that you receive appropriate, safe and cost-effective drug therapy. Step Therapy encourages the use of therapies that should be tried first, before other treatments are covered, based on clinical practice guidelines and cost-effectiveness.

If your doctor prescribes a brand-name drug for the treatment of an ongoing condition, you will be required to try a medically equivalent but lower-cost alternative to the drug first. You will be contacted before implementation of Step Therapy with a list of the alternative drugs available. After you review the list, you or your pharmacist may contact your doctor to approve the change. If your doctor does not authorize the switch to the preferred drug, the request will be clinically reviewed and you will be informed of the outcome.

Review the 2016 CVS Caremark Advanced Control Drug Formulary with your doctor if you are being treated for an ongoing condition. Your doctor will help you determine whether your treatment plan can include a generic alternative or, if not available or tolerated, a high-quality preferred brand-name drug included in the 2016 Formulary. Please see "Brand Medications Requiring Use of Generic(s) First."

Sometimes, your doctor may determine that it is medically necessary for you to take the brand-name version of a drug, even if a generic version is available. If so, your doctor would write "DAW" at the bottom of the prescription. This means that your prescription must be filled with the brand-name version of the medication.

If you use a DAW prescription and receive a drug's brand-name version, you will be required to pay the brand copayment plus the cost difference between the brand and generic drug. If you are unable to take a generic equivalent drug for clinical reasons (e.g., you are allergic to the generic filler), your physician can appeal. If your appeal is approved, you can take the brand-name drug without paying the differential.

CVS Caremark offers innovative online solutions at www.caremark.com, using a secure, encrypted web environment for transactions and information to empower you to make cost-effective and informed health care decisions. Online features include:

Go to www.caremark.com/register to get started. It's a fast, free and easy way to make the most of your prescription drug coverage.

CVS Caremark AccordantCare™ Health Services and the CVS Health Pharmacy Advisor Counseling Program can help you, as well as your covered dependents, deal with serious or chronic, high-cost health conditions.

This program is a voluntary, no-cost service that offers covered employees and dependents with one of 17 complex and chronic conditions the opportunity to work with CVS Health Care Management Nurses to help obtain quality care and get answers to questions about health concerns. A team of nurses can answer your questions about special health concerns and help you notice health risks and concerns early, know when to call your doctor and understand your doctor's plan of care, get screenings, find reliable resources and keep motivated to stay well.

This program helps individuals with chronic conditions improve their medication adherence and close gaps in care. You may consult a CVS pharmacist at a time that's convenient for you for quick, confidential advice, information about medications and their effects on your body and guidance to help you stay on track with your medications.

CVS Caremark ExtraCare Health Care is an exclusive program that provides a 20 percent discount at any CVS/pharmacy store or online at www.cvs.com when you show your CVS Caremark card. The 20 percent discount applies to regularly-priced CVS/pharmacy Brand or CVS/pharmacy Exclusive Brand health-related items of $1 or more. These items include glucose meters, blood pressure monitors, hearing aids, crutches, vitamins, nutritional supplements, sunscreen over 30 SPF and more.

If you are new to the plan, you will receive a prescription drug card from CVS Caremark in late December. This card is separate from your medical card and should be used when you order prescriptions through either a retail pharmacy or mail order service.