Pharmacy Internship

Wellmark-Blue-Cross-and-Blue-Shiel; Des Moines (IA); Hybrid; USD 28,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield in Des Moines, IA, offers a 2027 Summer Internship Program in Pharmacy, starting May 2027 with a hybrid schedule at our Des Moines headquarters. You’ll support managed care pharmacy projects, engage in clinical topics, and learn from industry leaders.

You will gain practical hands-on experience, work with subject matter experts, and network with peers while developing customer-focused solutions for members and providers.

Qualifications

• Current P1 or P2 PharmD student.
• Registered Pharmacist Intern.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Knowledge of applicable rules, regulations, and guidelines in pharmacy.
• Strong organization and prioritization skills; manage multiple projects and meet deadlines.
• Self-starter who can work independently and in cross-functional teams.
• Strong interpersonal skills for collaboration and trust.
• Effective facilitation, negotiation, and presentation skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office products.

Responsibilities

• Exposure to managed care pharmacy and learning innovative cost-management solutions.
• Research, prepare and present on clinical topics or new drug reviews for Wellmark clinicians or Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee.
• Track FDA decisions and support formulary changes.
• Evaluate prior authorization and utilization data to identify cost-saving opportunities.
• Support clinical team reviews of appeals or inquiries.
• Understand economic impacts of new drugs and related cost-of-care analyses.

Skills

Verbal communication

Written communication

Organization

Self-starter

Interpersonal skills

Facilitation

Negotiation

Presentation

Microsoft Office

Education

P1/P2 PharmD student

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Why choose an internship with Wellmark?We strive to offer meaningful work that assists in your professional development and provides value to the team. You will gain valuable experience within the health insurance industry and put the skills and knowledge you’ve acquired in school to practice this summer during our 2027 Summer Internship Program. You will have the opportunity to learn from subject matter experts and leaders within the industry, network with fellow internship program participants, and gain practical, hands-on work experience.

If you’re eager to learn, collaborate with others, demonstrate your potential, develop customer-focused solutions, and grow into an exciting career, we hope you’ll consider an internship with us!

Job Description

What’s Pharmacy at Wellmark?The Wellmark Pharmacy Team is responsible for designing and delivering pharmacy benefits and optimizing drug cost solutions for our groups and members. This includes development and maintenance of custom formularies and utilization management, rebate strategies, PBM management and oversight, education and consultation with clients and consultants, education and communications for members and providers, support of client RFPs and audits, and benefit oversight, testing, and remediation.

What projects might I support?Although subject to change, examples of projects are included below:

• Exposure to managed care pharmacy and opportunity to learn and contribute to the innovative solutions required to responsibly manage pharmacy decisions.
• Research, prepare and present on clinical topics or new drug reviews to Wellmark clinicians or in support of the Wellmark Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee.
• Track FDA decisions and support implementation of changes to formulary.
• Evaluate prior authorization and utilization management data to identify quality improvement and cost-saving opportunities, supporting indication-based and value-based formulary initiatives.
• Support clinical team’s review of appeals or responding to inquiries.
• Gain understanding of economic impacts of new drugs and analysis required to manage cost of care.

This internship will start in May of 2027, working a hybrid schedule from our headquarters in Des Moines.

Qualifications

• Current P1 or P2 PharmD student
• Registered Pharmacist Intern
• Strong verbal and written communication skills to effectively communicate recommendations to all levels of the organization
• Knowledge of applicable rules, regulations, and guidelines, and maintain awareness of implications to pharmacy
• Strong organization and prioritization skills. Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and consistently meet deadlines
• Self-starter who can work well independently and as a member of a cross-functional team.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build relationships of collaboration and trust
• Effective facilitation, negotiation, and presentation skills
• Proficient in Microsoft Office products

Preferred:

• Prior internship or office experience
• Practical experience using AI tools

Additional Information

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

An Equal Opportunity Employer

The policy of Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield is to recruit, hire, train and promote individuals in all job classifications without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by law.

Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation due to a disability at any stage of the employment application process should contact us at [emailprotected]

At this time, Wellmark is not considering applicants for this position that require any type of immigration sponsorship (additional work authorization or permanent work authorization) now or in the future to work in the United States. This includes, but IS NOT LIMITED TO: F1-OPT, F1-CPT, H-1B, TN, L-1, J-1, etc. For additional information around work authorization needs please refer to the following resources: Nonimmigrant Workers and Green Card for Employment-Based Immigrants

Wellmark supports and expects the responsible use of AI for our workforce! We welcome the responsible use of these tools by job seekers as well and are interested in learning from you; you will have an opportunity in the application process to share which tools you used and how you applied them.