Arpit Patel jokes that all of his cousins went into medicine. While his family pursued M.D. degrees, a pharmacist’s career advice during a high school visit steered him toward a different route in healthcare. Patel affixed Pharm.D. to his name instead, eventually landing his current role as senior vice president of trade relations and supply chain at MedImpact.
Patel immigrated to the United States from India at age nine and grew up in Nutley. His professional path began with work on formularies in the early days of Medicaid Part D. A rotation at Medco Health Solutions, reviewing appeals and grievances, gave him an initial look at managed care. He later spent a short stint at Walgreens before joining a Medicare organization in 2007, where he has built his career around formulary strategy ever since.
Recognition for Innovation
His career trajectory recently garnered industry attention. Patel was recognized as one of six Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute (PBMI) Innovators. He is featured in the August 2026 issue of Managed Healthcare Executive alongside the other winners. The group will be honored at the 2026 PBMI Annual National Conference, which is scheduled for Sept. 10-11 in Orlando, Florida.
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At MedImpact, Patel oversees a broad portfolio of projects. His tasks include contracting with pharmaceutical manufacturers and developing the economic case that account teams present to clients and consultants. He suggests that deep industry knowledge is essential for handling these complex negotiations.
“I think one of the challenges in this industry is that without that level of expertise, you tend to have a very superficial response to direct questions,” Patel said in an interview.
Defining Value in Formularies
He emphasizes that his team weighs multiple factors when deciding which drugs to place on a formulary. They analyze adherence, discontinuation rates, and quality of life rather than relying on financial considerations alone.
“I always looked at the formulary as sort of the value that healthcare can provide,” Patel said.
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The Disconnect in Rebates
Patel argues that much of this thinking comes back to how rebates function in the current system. He contends that members rarely benefit from the discounts negotiated on their behalf. This occurs because their cost sharing at the pharmacy counter is calculated using a drug’s high list price rather than its net cost after rebates.
MedImpact operates as an independent pharmacy benefit manager. The company provides services to health systems, smaller PBMs, retail chains, employers, and health plans. It does not steer clients toward an affiliated specialty pharmacy or mandate a one-size-fits-all rebate structure.
Patel pointed to the company’s wholesale entity. This entity buys biosimilars at scale and sells them to any specialty pharmacy. He also pointed to newer programs that pair prescriptions for glucagon-like peptide-1 weight loss drugs with support from a registered dietitian to address adherence.
