CVS Caremark manages pharmacy benefits for Anthem-administered CU Health Plans (Exclusive, Extended, High Deductible and Medicare).
All faculty, staff, retirees and surviving spouses enrolled in these plans use CVS Caremark to fill their prescriptions. Learn more about your prescription coverage, where to fill prescriptions and more about CVS Caremark.
Where to fill your prescription with CVS Caremark
Plans: Members enrolled in CU Health Plans - Exclusive, Extended and High Deductible.
New plan members have three grace refills at any pharmacy before they must use covered pharmacies.
Review this chart to help determine the best in-network pharmacy for you and your needs:
| Medication type | Where to fill this medication | Find a pharmacy |
|---|---|---|
|
Short-term medications — Up to a 30-day supply (Antibiotics, etc.) |
CVS Caremark Retail Network Pharmacy: Visit one of the 68,000 pharmacy locations nationwide with more than 850 in Colorado. This network includes all major national chains (such as Walgreens, Costco, King Soopers, Safeway, UC Health, etc.) and many independent pharamcies. CVS Retail Pharmacy: Visit a stand-alone CVS pharmacy or a CVS pharmacy inside Target. There are more than 60 Colorado locations. |
|
|
Non-specialty medications — Up to a 90-day supply |
CVS Caremark Retail Network Pharmacy: Visit one of the 68,000 pharmacy locations nationwide with more than 850 in Colorado. This network includes all major national chains (such as Walgreens, Costco, King Soopers, Safeway, UC Health, etc.) and many independent pharamcies. A CVS Retail Pharmacy: A stand-alone CVS pharmacy or a CVS pharmacy inside Target. There are more than 60 Colorado locations. |
|
|
Maintenance medications (such as high blood pressure and diabetes medications) — Up to a 90-day supply |
CVS Retail Pharmacy: A stand-alone CVS pharmacy, a CVS pharmacy inside Target, a Costco pharmacy or a Kroger pharmacy (including King Soopers and City Market). There more than 200 Colorado locations. **Costco locations are new as of Oct. 1, 2023. **Kroger locations are new as of April 1, 2024. |
For a CVS Retail Pharmacy:
|
| CVS Mail Service: Mail order fills maintenance medications with up to 90-day supply. You can have medications shipped to your door or pick them up at a nearby CVS Retail Pharmacy. |
CVS Mail Service: Visit the mail order website and set up an account. You can have your medications set up for automatic refill delivery or manage your refills through your account by text, phone or email. | |
|
Specialty medications (Medications that required special handling, have limited distribution, treat complex conditions and/or require ongoing assessment) |
CVS Specialty: Online services to have specialty medications shipped to your door or pick them up at a nearby CVS Retail Pharmacy |
Visit the CVS Specialty website to set up an account. |
Plan: CU Health Plan — Medicare
- CU Health Plan — Medicare members can still choose to fill their prescriptions through any CVS Caremark Retail Network Pharmacy (includes UCHealth Pharmacies).
- See the Medicare webpages for Retirees and Surviving Spouses for full details.
No-cost coverage for generic preventive drugs
All CU Health Plan members can fill prescriptions for covered generic drugs used to prevent or treat certain chronic health conditions at no cost. Generic drugs use the exact same effective ingredient(s) of brand-name medications and are formulated with the same quality, dosage, safety and effectiveness as brand name drugs.
When prescribed eligible drugs by your doctor, you'll be able to fill these at $0 cost, even if you haven't met your medical plan deductible yet (if applicable).
Common conditions include:
- Cardiovascular conditions
- Respiratory disorders
- Hypertension
- Osteoporosis
- Anticoagulants/antiplatelets
- Preventative care
- Women's health
- And more!
Eligible drugs:
- Covered no-cost preventative generic drugs were determined by Affordable Care Act and IRS regulations, and covered drug lists are updated quarterly.
- See the preventive drug list on the CVS Caremark website.
CVS Caremark FAQ
Your CVS member account
Will I get an ID card?
If you’re enrolled in CU Health Plans – Exclusive, Extended, High Deductible or Medicare, you’ll have separate identification cards for your medical and pharmacy benefits – one from Anthem and one from CVS Caremark. Those who changed their coverage for the 2024-25 plan year will be mailed new cards around July 1. Those who made no changes can continue to use their previous ID cards.
All users have the option to use digital IDs. For more information on using digital ID cards, check out our digital delivery page.
How do I manage my CVS Caremark account?
Members are encouraged to visit Caremark.com and setup their online account to access CVS Caremark’s CU Health Plan dashboard. New members will have acccess starting July 1, 2024.
Digital Benefits
CVS Mobile App
Caremark.com is an easy way to make the most of your prescription benefits:
- Find network pharmacies
- Refill medication and check order status
- Check drug costs
- See your prescription history
Prescription coverage
Do I have to use CVS?
Plan members receive the biggest savings on medications when using a CVS Caremark service and/or network pharmacy, which includes major pharmacy chains like Walgreens, Costco, King Soopers and many others.
You may continue to use a preferred pharmacy. However, most medication types dispensed from an out-of-network pharmacy will not be covered by CU Health Plan. Refer to the Where to fill prescriptions tab to learn which pharmacies to use for different prescriptions.
I am enrolled in CU Health Plan — Medicare. Do I have to use CVS?
CU Health Plan Medicare members can continue to fill their prescriptions through any CVS Retail Network Pharmacy, including UCHealth Pharmacy Services.
For general questions about UCHealth Pharmacy Services, call 720-848-3377 (voicemail-only line) or email pharmacy@uchealth.org.
What will my prescriptions cost?
Your cost will depend on the tier of drug you’ve been prescribed and the availability of generic options. These materials can help you navigate your prescription drug options and costs.
How do I know if my medication is covered? What do I do if my medication is NOT covered?
Visit the Caremark website's formulatory page to find out more information on drug coverage. Review the PDFs of the current formulary and speciality formulatory as well as medications your plans will cover when the next quarterly formulary takes effect.
If your drug is not on the current formulary or speciality formulatory, please contact the CVS Customer Care team at 1-888-964-0121, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
How are insulin, diabetes medications and supplies covered? How do I get assistance with these prescriptions?
Covered CU Health Plan members with diabetes may be eligible to have insulin, generic medication and supplies provided by an in-network pharmacy with no copay. Brand-name diabetic medications are subject to applicable copays, deductibles or coinsurance depending on the member’s health plan.
For questions about or assistance with managing coverage for insulin, diabetes medications and supplies, please contact contact the CVS Customer Care team at 1-888-964-0121. They available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
What if my doctor didn't send my prescriptions to the right pharmacy?
All new prescriptions are given up to three grace refills before medications must be transferred.
You can transfer any prescriptions to a CVS pharmacy by visiting caremark.com and entering in the medications you take regularly, and CVS will transfer them to the new CVS pharmacy of your choice.
Mail Order
How can I enroll in CVS Mail Order?
To have maintenance prescriptions mailed to you:
- Visit Caremark.com/MailService, log in to the site, open the Prescriptions menu, select Start RX Delivery by Mail, and fill out the related form.
- Call CVS Caremark Customer Care at 1-888-964-0121 to request that CVS Caremark contact your doctor for a new prescription.
- Alternatively, you can ask your doctor to send an electronic prescription to CVS Caremark Mail Service Pharmacy. You can expect to get your medication within 10 business days. (Your doctor should select the following for electronic prescriptions: CVS Caremark MAILSERVICE Pharmacy, One Great Valley Blvd, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18706)
CVS has put together this video on managing mail order prescriptions:
What if my prescriptions get lost in the mail?
Please contact the CVS Customer Care team at 1-888-964-0121, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
Specialty Prescription
How can I manage specialty prescriptions?
CVS has put together these materials to help you navigate your specialty prescription needs.