This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
For the past year, Walgreens and Express Script have negoitiated for a new contract to continue as part of its pharmacy provider network. Those negotiations were unsuccessful, and the contract expired on Dec. 31. As a result, Walgreens is no longer part of Express Scripts’ pharmacy provider network as of Jan. 1, 2012. This includes all Walgreens pharmacies nationwide and Duane Reade pharmacies in the New York City area.
This situation of forcing pharmacy patients to go elsewhere to use their in-network pharmacy benefits was unnecessary. Express Scripts’ actions are causing disruption with no significant benefit to patients or their health plan. Patients covered by an Express Scripts plan now find themselves not only having to change their pharmacists, but many are having to drive farther to get prescriptions filled at pharmacies with less convenient hours for their hectic schedules. Walgreens offers more 24-hour and drive-thru pharmacies than any other pharmacy in the country.
Express Scripts itself has stated that clients will not see any significant savings from excluding Walgreens from its network. In fact, costs may even go up without Walgreens because we offer competitive pricing, additional savings by dispensing less expensive generic drugs more often than other pharmacies, and savings through 90-day supplies of medications at our retail pharmacies versus three, 30-day refills.
One of Express Scripts’ clients is Tricare, which is the health and prescription drug program for America’s military service men and women. During negotiations, Walgreens took the unprecedented step of offering Express Scripts an ironclad guarantee that Walgreens prices would match or beat the average costs per adjusted prescription of all other pharmacies in the Tricare network. Walgreens did this in an effort to prevent our country’s military personnel from being caught in the middle. Walgreens also offered to contract separately with Express Scripts for Tricare from other Express Scripts commercial business, but these offers were rejected. Express Scripts continues to refuse to negotiate a separate contract for the benefit of the Tricare program and its beneficiaries.
Not sure if this impacts you? Your Walgreens pharmacist can check for you or if the back of your prescription insurance card says Express Scripts then you may be affected.
Among the steps Walgreen is taking to minimize the disruption is offering a special discount on annual membership for its Walgreens Prescription Savings Club. An individual can join during a special January promotion for only $5, or $10 for a family membership, and receive savings on more than 8,000 brand name and all generic medications. More than 400 generics are available with a three-month supply for less than $1 a week. Regular annual membership is $20 for an individual and $35 for a family.
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