Media Maven

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hello Lifestylistas,

On December 31, 2011, the year-long contract renewal negotiation between Walgreens and Express Scripts expired, leaving Walgreens pharmacies nationwide & Duane Reade pharmacies in the NYC area, without a pharmacy provider network as of January 1, 2011. What does this mean for pharmacy patients? Well, it forces them to go elsewhere to use their in-network pharmacy benefits; causing many to change their pharmacists and to venture further to get prescriptions filled at pharmacies with less convenient hours, which is not cool for the busy diva-centric female with a hectic schedule. What is the deal Express Scripts? Everyone knows that Walgreens offers 24-hour and drive-thru pharmacies, which tops many other pharmacies in the country! And to add insult to injury, patients can expect NO price cuts in exchange for the unnecessary inconvenience. In fact, you can say that “it’s all pain with no gain.”

In Walgreens’ defense, the pharmacy offered to hold rates for a new contract and did not seek an increase in rates, however “Express Scripts insisted on being able to unilaterally define contract terms, such as what does and does not constitute a brand and generic drug, and also proposed to slash Walgreens reimbursement rates to levels below industry average cost per prescription” – Walgreens.

Express Scripts blatantly admitted that clients can expect no significant savings from excluding the pharmacy giant from its network, and predicts cost might actually increase without Walgreens’ competitive pricing, additional savings through dispensing generic drugs and savings through 90-day supplies of medications at Walgreen’s retail pharmacies versus three, 30-day refills.

Express Scripts prefers to “pass on offering substantial savings to its clients by promoting 90-day refills at retail pharmacies, but it conflicts with its own mail order 90-day prescription business that it profits from. In addition, while profits per prescription among retail pharmacies have been flat or declining in recent years, Express Scripts’ profits have grown at a rate more than two times the average of peers in health care” – Walgreens.

America, this affects you the most because one of Express Scripts’ clients is Tricare, which is the health and prescription drug program for America’s military service men and women.  Walgreens stated that during negotiations, “we took the unprecedented step of offering Express Scripts an ironclad guarantee that our prices would match or beat the average costs per adjusted prescription of all other pharmacies in the Tricare network.”  Walgreens wanted to prevent American military personnel from being caught in the middle. Walgreens also offered the idea of a separate contract with Express Scripts for Tricare from other Express Scripts commercial business, but was rejected.

A note from Walgreens to concerned patients – “Only patients with certain prescription insurance plans managed by Express Scripts are impacted. It is best to check with your local Walgreens pharmacist to find out for sure if you’re impacted. Patients also can check the back of their prescription insurance card – if it has Express Scripts’ name there, then they may be affected. If it doesn’t say Express Scripts, then they are not affected.” If you have any further concerns, you are strongly urged to contact your local media outlet and have your voice heard! Feel free to also comment on this post as Media Maven will be following this issue very closely to keep you updated and to help your voices and feelings be heard in reaction to this ordeal! If you would like to support Walgreens and stay updated, “like”  Walgreens on Facebook and follow Walgreens on Twitter @Walgreens.

For the unnecessary inconvenience, Walgreen is offering a special discount on annual membership for its Prescription Savings Club at Walgreens. 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.

According to a recent Walgreens proprietary survey of 823 executives and managers who are key decision makers for pharmacy benefit decisions or provide input found that 82 percent of employers said that they would not exclude Walgreens for less than 5 percent savings on their total pharmacy spend. Sixty percent of employers would not exclude Walgreens for less than 10 percent savings, and 21 percent would not exclude Walgreens from their network regardless of the amount of savings. These findings on employer attitudes are consistent with recent research published by several leading equity research analysts.

Facts About Express Scripts

Express Scripts acts as a middleman between pharmacies providing the health care service and employers and health plans who pay for the medications. Many health plans and employers are making decisions to continue to ensure access to Walgreens because they find the prices to be competitive and believe that we can lower overall health care costs.

“Express Scripts continues to gain financially from its position as a middleman as its profits have grown at a rate more than two times the average of peers in health care. Historically brokers in a marketplace take a percentage of the cost of a product for putting the buyer and seller in contact.  In Express Scripts’ case, the broker is growing profits faster than the provider of the service.  When the middleman is more profitable than the providers, the relationship is out of balance” – Walgreens Pharmacy.

Express Scripts wants customers to use their own mail order pharmacy business instead of your community pharmacy whenever possible. In reality, this could threaten all community drugstores in your area.

“Remember, community pharmacies are a valuable presence in your neighborhood when you need a pain medication as you leave the emergency room at 2 a.m., or need a flu shot and haven’t been able to get to the doctor’s office. Community pharmacies are often the first point of entry for many people into the health care system, and the value they provide by lowering overall health care costs should be recognized by Express Scripts” – Walgreens Pharmacy.