Many times clients go through great effort putting together an RFP for the PBMs to answer in great detail, then nothing ever gets put into the contract.
If a PBM expects to gain your trust and manage your pharmacy benefit, it is only reasonable to draft a contract that reflects their claims to exceptionalism. If the PBM agrees to RFP terms, it only follows that the contract should memorialize those terms in a contract.
RFPs do not bind a PBM to their guarantees, contracts do. You must make sure what was promised in the RFP process or vendor interview process goes into a contract. A contract is not a legal agreement until it is signed by both parties.
Many times financial guarantees are not guarantees unless the client has a signed contract. Also, rebates may not be paid unless the contract is signed.
Performance Guarantees generally will not be honored unless you have a signed contract and a RFP is not a contract. However, a signed agreement in a well drafted contract that honors the best that a PBM can offer through the RFP process is worth celebrating with concrete savings.
