Pharmacy

The Pharmacy Program at California Health & Wellness is designed to provide access to pharmacy services to our members, and to ensure that these services are a covered benefit, medically necessary, appropriate to the member’s condition, rendered in the appropriate setting, and meet professionally recognized standards of pharmacy care.

Medi-Cal Rx Transition

The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has scheduled the planned Go-Live date for Medi-Cal Rx to January 1, 2022.

For more information, visit Medi-Cal Rx.

Preferred Drug List

California Health & Wellness has created a Preferred Drug List (PDL). The PDL is continually evaluated by a committee of practicing physicians and pharmacists to ensure appropriate and cost-effective use of medications without compromising the quality of care. Click on the link below to see the full list.

Preferred Drug List (PDL) (PDF)
Preferred Drug List (PDL) (JSON) (machine readable file)
Pharmacy PDL Change Request Form (PDF)

Medication Prior Authorization Requests

Some medications require prior authorization from California Health & Wellness in order for reimbursement to be issued to the provider. Medications requiring prior authorization include:

Medications not listed on the Preferred Drug List (PDL)
Medications listed on the PDL with restrictions or limitations, such as:
Step Therapy
Quantity Limit
Age Limit

Use the form below when submitting a prior authorization request for medications:

Prescription Drug Prior Authorization or Step Therapy Exception Request Form (No. 61-211) (PDF)

Please note the contact information differs based on the type of prior authorization request being made:

Self-Administered Non-Specialty Medications

Envolve Pharmacy Solutions

Envolve Pharmacy Solutions, California Health & Wellness Pharmacy Benefit Manager, processes pharmacy claims and administers the prior authorization process for self-administered (i.e. oral, self-injectable, topical, ophthalmic) drugs.

Fax: 1-866-399-0929
Phone: 1-877-277-0413

Self-Administered Specialty Medications

AcariaHealth

AcariaHealth, California Health & Wellness preferred specialty pharmacy vendor, can supply a number of specialty medications. Requests for specialty medications are screened by AcariaHealth prior to review by US Script.

Fax: 1-855-217-0926
Phone: 1-855-535-1815

Physician-Administered Specialty Medications

California Health & Wellness Pharmacy Department

The California Health & Wellness Pharmacy Department handles prior authorization requests for medications that will be administered by a provider (i.e. biopharmacy, home health, outpatient, injectable or infusible medications).

Fax: 1-877-259-6961
Phone: 1-877-658-0305

* Please see the injectable medication HCPS/DOFR Crosswalk (PDF) to determine provider-administered "therapeutic" vs. self-administered injectables.

AcariaHealth is the Preferred Specialty Pharmacy for California Health & Wellness. Please contact AcariaHealth by phone at 1-855-535-1815 to coordinate delivery of Specialty medications.

NOTE: Enteral Nutrition

Submit Pump Enteral Nutrition Prior Authorizations to California Health & Wellness Pharmacy Department. Billing must be through California Health & Wellness Medical Billing.
Submit Bolus (no pump) Enteral Nutrition Prior Authorizations to Envolve Pharmacy Solutions. Billing must be handled through a network pharmacy using pharmacy claims.

Find a Provider

To find a pharmacy that is in the California Health & Wellness network you can use the Find a Provider tool. Choose Other and type the name of the pharmacy or select the pharmacy type in the Select Specialty area. Only those pharmacies in the California Health & Wellness network are listed.