ANNAPOLIS, MD (April 4, 2007) - Demonstrating his commitment to be an independent voice on the Board of Public Works, Comptroller Peter Franchot today voted to approve a $1.1 billion prescription drug benefit contract with Catalyst RX after receiving assurances from the company that the more than 200,000 state employees, retirees and their families impacted by the new contract would be held harmless under the new plan.

Thanks to the Comptroller's action that delayed the approval for two weeks, the impending change in coverage has gone from negatively impacting over 40,000 to none.

"When these huge contracts come up before the Board - particularly contracts that impact on hundreds of thousands of Marylanders - I am committed to asking the inconvenient and tough questions and fight on behalf of the people of Maryland," said Comptroller Franchot. "Initially this contract came to us with too many unanswered questions - particularly the precise number of employees who would be negatively impacted by the new contract, which was cause for great concern."

When the contract originally came before the Board, analysts from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) estimated that over 40,000 state employees and retirees would end up paying more in co-pays with the new provider. The company estimated the number to be closer to 2,000. At the time, the Comptroller requested that the contract be delayed so there could be more study and discussion about the effects of the switch on the employees.

In the ensuing two weeks, DBM revised their estimate to roughly 21,000 people being impacted negatively, while the company still believed the number to be at most in the area of 2,000. Catalyst has successfully switched coverage for over 1.5 million people across the country and is willing to stand behind their plan. At the Board meeting this morning, Catalyst CEO David Blair committed to working to ensure that every state employee would be held harmless; even offering at one point to cover the cost of any co-pay increase for employees if it happened.

"I want to thank and commend Catalyst for coming forward and doing the right thing. They have a great business model and I applaud them for offering their assurances that no employee will end up paying more," commented the Comptroller. "I will continue to work closely with them as the changeover takes place to ensure every Maryland employee and retiree gets the high quality, cost effective coverage they deserve."

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CONTACT: Joe Shapiro, 410-260-7305