As Blue Shield of California’s Vice President of Pharmacy Services, Alison Lum leads the team that is transforming the company’s pharmacy benefit into one that is sustainably affordable, worthy of our family and friends. A pharmacist by training, Lum brings her unique perspective to Blue Shield’s innovative pharmacy initiatives and reimagining of the pharmacy pricing model. With the goal of bringing more equitable access and transparency to the prescription drug landscape, Lum has played a crucial role in many partnership efforts, including those with Gemini Health and CivicaScript.
Since Blue Shield started working with Gemini in 2019, the collaboration has resulted in $60 million in cost savings. The 77,000 prescribers who have access to the Gemini service help members receive personalized, real-time drug information with transparency at the point of prescribing. Additionally, Lum worked alongside more than a dozen health plans within the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association to co-found CivicaScript, a subsidiary of CivicaRx that develops affordable versions of high-priced medications for patients.
Prior to joining Blue Shield in 2011, Lum was the Director of Clinical Services at a managed Medicaid plan, San Francisco Health Plan, where she was responsible for pharmacy benefits, utilization/case management and provider relations. She also has experience in Medicare Part D, PACE programs and account management. She holds a doctorate of pharmacy degree from the University of California, San Francisco and completed the California Healthcare Foundation Leadership Fellowship. Lum participated in the California Pharmacist Association state-wide task force for SB493 payment models and was a keynote speaker on the topic at the 2015 West Coast Pharmacy Exchange. She was honored with the Blue Shield Team Mission and Values in Action awards for 2016 and 2013 and the inaugural San Francisco Health Plan’s Here For You award in 2008.
