WASHINGTON — President Obama has vetoed congressional legislation that would repeal the Affordable Care Act. Repeal bills passed by the House and Senate “would reverse the significant progress we have made in improving health care in America,” Obama said. Noting that 17.6 million Americans have gained health care coverage under the law, he said the
BOULDER, Colo. — Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy has named Richard Willis president and chief executive officer. He has also been appointed to the company’s board of directors. “After a comprehensive search process, the board is pleased to have found such an experienced and talented individual to assume the leadership of Pharmaca,” said Peter Cornetta, lead director
NEW YORK — Drug stores outpaced other mass retailers in December sales, even with modest increases in total and same-store sales for the month. Total drug store sales in December were up 4% compared with the same month last year, according to research by Chain Drug Review publisher Racher Press. Same-store sales increased 1.7%. And
TAMPA, Fla. — WellCare Health Plans Inc., a provider of managed care services for government-sponsored health care programs, has shifted its pharmacy benefits management to CVS Health. With the move, CVS Health now administers pharmacy benefits and processes pharmacy claims for approximately 3.8 million WellCare members who participate in the company’s Medicaid, Medicare and Prescription
LINTHICUM, Md. — Care Pharmacies Cooperative Inc. has launched Care Connect, a specialty pharmacy internal network designed for its member pharmacies and other retail independent pharmacies. “Care Connect was designed to provide the highest level of care to our specialty patients,” stated chief executive officer Michael Wysong. Care Connect is a comprehensive care management model
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS/pharmacy is relaunching the color cosmetics segment of the Nuance Salma Hayek brand with newly formulated and repackaged products that will begin appearing in stores in March. The exclusive beauty care collection, cocreated in 2011 by the company and actress Salma Hayek, quickly became the best-selling proprietary brand in CVS’ history. The
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health has opened its first MinuteClinic inside a Navarro Discount Pharmacy store. The new MinuteClinic walk-in medical clinic inside the Navarro store in Miami Lakes, Fla., joins 22 other South Florida MinuteClinic locations inside selected CVS/pharmacy stores. CVS acquired Navarro in July 2014, and it acquired MinuteClinic in 2006. “This new
CAMP HILL, Pa. — Through January 23, Rite Aid is celebrating the New Year by offering members in the wellness+ with Plenti program a special opportunity to begin accumulating Plenti points for 2016, in addition to regular weekly offers. Customers can earn 1,000 Plenti points on every $30 spent on featured products in stores or
ARLINGTON, Va. — Retired U.S. Army general and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey will speak at the 2016 National Association of Chain Drug Stores’ Annual Meeting on Tuesday, April 19, in Palm Beach, Fla. News of the general’s engagement in the NACDS Annual Meeting follows December’s announcement that former Speaker
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer Inc. pharmacies marked a milestone recently when the retailer’s free prescription program hit 30 million prescriptions dispensed — 6 million alone in 2015 — since October 2006 when the program launched. The program has saved customers more than $422 million, said vice president of pharmacy Nat Love. “Meijer is a
ARLINGTON, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores has joined other retail trade associations in commenting on proposed updates to the Environmental Protection Agency’s waste management regulations. Those rules could affect the way retailers handle their unsold consumer products and pharmaceuticals. NACDS — together with the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), the Food
Clearly, health care reform will remain a contentious issue during the current presidential election cycle and beyond. The House of Representatives started the new year by voting to gut the Affordable Care Act. Passage of the legislation, by a 240-to-181 margin that closely mirrored the breakdown among parties in the Republican-controlled body, together
The new year has begun inauspiciously for chain drug retailing, an industry that is still trying to assess the results of the just completed Christmas selling season. By all accounts, December was a month of no great accomplishments, even if it was not the disaster some observers predicted. Now it’s on to 2016, and the
