One of the largest pharmacy benefit management companies in the U.S. is expanding in the state of Missouri again, Gov. Jay Nixon announced. St. Louis-based Express Scripts will be adding up to 100 new local jobs for work-at-home customer service representatives in Joplin, representing a capital investment of approximately $960,000 into the local economy. The Joplin announcement follows two significant expansions by the company at its St. Louis headquarters since 2009.
"Express Scripts' decision to further invest in the state of Missouri by adding these jobs in the Joplin area will have a significant impact on the area's economy," Gov. Nixon said. "I am pleased my administration could help make this important project a reality. It's the latest sign of the positive momentum of the Show-Me State's economy."
In just the last six weeks, Missouri has seen major jobs creation announcements by Ford (900 new manufacturing jobs at the Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo), Monsanto (675 new jobs at its St. Louis County facility) and Yanfeng Automotive Trim Systems (263 new auto supply manufacturing jobs at a new facility in Riverside). Missouri employers created more than 12,000 new jobs in April alone, and the state's current unemployment rate of 6.6 percent, which has decreased three full points since 2009, has been lower than the national unemployment rate for 44 consecutive months.
Express Scripts manages more than a billion prescriptions each year for tens of millions of patients in the U.S. The company provides integrated pharmacy-benefit management services, including network-pharmacy claims processing, home delivery, specialty benefit management, benefit-design consultation, drug-utilization review, formulary management, and medical and drug data analysis services for its clients, which include employers, health plans, unions and government health programs. The company also distributes a full range of biopharmaceutical products and provides extensive cost-management and patient-care services.
The state of Missouri helped make Express Scripts' expansion in Joplin possible through a strategic package of economic incentives, which the company can redeem if it meets strict job creation and investment criteria.