Healthcare company to spend $2.1 million, add 75 jobs in Van Buren

By Rosemary K. Otzman
Independent Editor
MedImpact Healthcare Systems Inc. plans to open a new pharmacy benefit manager back office support center in Van Buren Township investing up to $2.1 million and creating 75 new jobs.
Job applicants can apply for open positions by going to https://www.medimpact.com/careers .
In a company news release Jan. 9, MedImpact said it has signed an agreement for 24,500-square-feet of office space at the Grace Lake Corporate Center in VBT.
A spokesperson at Grace Lake Corporate Center said MedImpact has a sublease from November 2013 to February 2019 on office space in building 30 at 1 Village Center. There is additional space open for lease on the first, second, and third floors, she said.
The news release described the Grace Lake Corporate Center (the former Visteon Village) as having “a unique campus setting with nature trails, lake frontage, and impeccable landscaping.”
“Michigan’s healthcare industry is growing and recognized across the country and MedImpact’s decision to locate here underscores Michigan’s business-friendly environment and talented workforce” said Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) President and CEO Michael A. Finney.
“MedImpact Healthcare Systems provides pharmacy services to more than 47 million lives and the company’s investment here will provide good-paying jobs to Michigan residents for years to come,” Finney said.
As a result, the project has been awarded a $150,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant.
The township and/or Wayne County will support the project by providing meeting or event space, Finney said.
Arthur Mullen, Van Buren Township Director of Planning and Economic Development, said the state asked the township and Wayne County to provide local support to the project.
“As they do not currently have a facility in the area, we were asked to offer meeting space for them during the hiring and build-out phase of the project,” Mullen said, adding, “Both entities agreed to this request.”
Greg Watanabe, president of San Diego-based MedImpact, said, “We are excited to grow the MedImpact family in the Midwest. This facility provides us the opportunity to capitalize on Michigan’s status as a rising healthcare leader and will enable us to more effectively support our clients nationwide.
“Through their professionalism and hard work our new Michigan team is already setting a high standard for service excellence.”
Mullen said during the MEDC courting process the township did offer to review a P.A. 198 tax abatement application on their behalf, but the MedImpact group chose not to pursue the abatement because they deemed it too small of a benefit to be worth the administrative costs to gain its approval.
“The township board did not see an application from them because the abatement portion of their project never got that far,” Mullen said.
Mullen explained that P.A. 198 is geared to grant larger benefits to manufacturing companies with larger equipment costs and MedImpact, as an office user, would have received a very modest benefit.
Mullen also noted that the taxes that go to the VBT Local Development Finance Authority (LDFA) would have a modest increase.
“The real property tax rate won’t change because Grace Lake is already paying taxes on the square-foot space that is already built there,” Mullen said.
“A modest boost will take place on the personal property taxes that the company has. This portion is also in jeopardy depending upon if it falls below the $40,000 tax rate break the governor signed into law last year for personal property and how the personal property phase-out goes,” Mullen said.
MedImpact Healthcare Systems Inc. (http://www.medimpact.com) founded in 1989 and headquartered in San Diego, CA, is a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) that combines subject matter expertise with innovative technology and services to deliver better healthcare outcomes and improve its clients’ positions in the market.
MedImpact provides PBM services to 47 million members of health plans hospitals and employers in the U.S. and abroad.
According to the news release, MedImpact’s model is unique: avoiding conflict of interest by not owning mail order or specialty pharmacies and instead earning money by effectively managing client pharmacy benefits. MedImpact’s results are quantified through detailed peer analysis demonstrating how the company can help its clients be market leaders rather than followers, the news release said.