Policy & Program Lead, Pharmacy Benefits (Medicaid)

State of Iowa; Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, Dental, and Vision Coverage

Paid Time Off (96–144 hours/year)

Retirement Plans like IPERS

Flexible Spending Accounts

Life insurance and long-term disabled

Employee Assistance Program

Employee Discount Programs

Job summary

The State of Iowa is seeking a detail-oriented, policy-focused professional to guide and strengthen our pharmacy benefit operations. This Program Planner 3 will act as a policy and program expert for PAD and OPD benefits, ensuring compliant, high-quality implementation of federal and state requirements across the program.

You will coordinate with legal, finance, data, and program integrity teams, review provider and MCO outputs, and prepare leadership briefings.

Qualifications

• Seven years of full-time work experience in the administration or operation/execution of a program (e.g., consultation, analysis, enforcement).
• One year of full-time experience plus educational milestones as described in the job requirements.
• Graduation from an accredited school of law.
• Current, continuous state executive branch experience: 9 months as Program Planner 2 or 27 months as Program Planner 1.

Responsibilities

• Provide policy guidance and program leadership for PAD and OPD benefits to ensure compliant, high-quality implementations.
• Evaluate MCO pharmacy performance and review Pharmacy Benefits Administrator deliverables.
• Analyze claims and utilization trends; support 340B and Drug Rebate regulatory compliance; maintain benefit documentation.
• Draft administrative rules and communications; coordinate responses to inquiries and regulatory requests.
• Collaborate with legal, finance, data, program integrity, and other partners to resolve issues and support member/provider outcomes.

Skills

Policy interpretation

Cross-functional coordination

Regulatory compliance

Program planning & analysis

Education

Graduation from an accredited law school

Job description

The State of Iowa is seeking a detail-oriented, policy-focused professional to guide and strengthen our pharmacy benefit operations. This Program Planner 3 will act as a policy and program expert for PAD and OPD benefits, ensuring compliant, high-quality implementation of federal and state requirements across the program.

You will coordinate with legal, finance, data, and program integrity teams, review provider and MCO outputs, and prepare leadership briefings.