2012 Distinguished Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

James Lang, BSPharm’76, PharmD’82, has 30 years’ experience managing pharmacy programs with senior executive positions in healthcare settings encompassing pharmacy benefit management companies, managed care, and hospital systems. Currently, Lang is the vice president of pharmacy services for Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Michigan, a health plan serving approximately 4.5 million people with a $5 billion annual budget. Prior to joining BCBS, Lang was president of Anthem Prescription Management where he grew the company from two million to over seven million members. Leading up to his post at Anthem, he was the president of Healthsource Rx, a subsidiary of Healthsource, a firm providing pharmacy benefit management services for approximately 1.5 million members in 15 states.

Lang is former vice president of clinical pharmacy services for ValueRx, a national pharmacy benefit manager, then owned by Value Health. He also managed the pharmacy benefit for four HMOs operated by BCBS of Michigan. Lang earned his BSPharm and PharmD degrees from U-M, and holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Eastern Michigan University. He has authored numerous publications in national healthcare journals, and presented at hundreds of invited speaking engagements.

In fall 2011, James established the James R. Lang Scholarship at the College of Pharmacy to benefit PharmD students.