A contract dispute between pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts and its largest client, the health insurer WellPoint, should get resolved quickly but investors will likely overreact to the dustup, according to a Jefferies analyst.

Express Scripts, based in St. Louis, said Tuesday afternoon it was in the middle of a contract dispute with the Indianapolis insurer, and WellPoint has raised the possibility of litigation. But Express Scripts also said the companies are negotiating and it believes they can resolve the dispute.

WellPoint Inc. operates Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in 14 states and is the nation's largest health insurer based on membership. It also represents about 30 percent of Express Scripts' revenue, analyst Arthur I. Henderson said in a Wednesday morning research note.

Continue Reading for Free

Register and gain access to:

  • Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.