WASHINGTON — The effort to replace Obamacare has taken divergent paths, neither of which seems likely to produce a lasting alternative. Republicans, led by Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, proposed taking funds budgeted for the Affordable Care Act and sending it to states as block grants along with the
COSTA MESA, Calif. — Resentment over rising drug prices has dimmed customers’ view of the U.S. pharmacy industry, according to J.D. Power. Decreased satisfaction with both brick-and-mortar and mail order pharmacies was found by the J.D. Power 2017 U.S. Pharmacy Study. Satisfaction with brick-and-mortar pharmacy costs fell 27 index points to 789 on a 1,000-point
TORONTO — Shoppers Drug Mart is recasting the shopping experience for seniors with a new store format dubbed Wellwise. The Wellwise by Shoppers Drug Mart outlet caters to the needs of aging Canadians who don’t want an “old person’s store,” said Theresa Firestone, senior vice president of health care businesses at SDM. Shopping for the
DUBLIN, Ohio — Todd Treon has been named vice president of Medicine Shoppe International (MSI), a Cardinal Health Inc. company. He succeeds John Fiacco, who will assume the position of vice president of pharmacy transition services at Cardinal Health. Treon has been Cardinal Health’s vice president of products and solutions marketing. In that role he
HOUSTON — The number of pharmacies that Hurricane Harvey forced to close — at least temporarily — ran into the hundreds late last month as the mammoth storm pounded southeast Texas. Drug chains, mass merchandisers and supermarketers shuttered stores with prescription counters throughout the region as Harvey battered the area with high winds and rain
DEMOTTE, Ind. — CVS Health has agreed to purchase 20-store Fagen Pharmacy. Terms were not disclosed. Plans call for eight of the stores to be converted and rebannered to CVS Pharmacy by late September. The other 12 are slated to be closed, with their prescription files transferring to nearby CVS pharmacies. The outlets to be
DUBLIN, Ohio — Todd Treon has been named vice president of Medicine Shoppe International. He succeeds John Fiacco, who will assume the position of vice president of pharmacy transition services at Cardinal Health Inc. Treon has been Cardinal Health’s vice president of products and solutions marketing. In that role, he has been a marketing leader
WASHINGTON — The failed effort to overturn the Affordable Care Act has hardly erased doubts about the law’s short- and long-term viability. Already, the Trump administration has suspended contracts with two companies that have helped thousands of people in nearly a score of cities get health insurance under the statute. In ending the $22 million
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health plans to extend its Transform Diabetes Care initiative to four more disease states over the next two years. The program is expected to also cover asthma, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and depression by midsummer 2019. Launched late last year, Transform Diabetes Care is designed to lower pharmacy costs through aggressive trend management
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health plans to extend its Transform Diabetes Care initiative to four more disease states over the next two years. The program is expected to also cover asthma, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and depression by midsummer 2019. Launched late last year, Transform Diabetes Care is designed to lower pharmacy costs through aggressive trend management
SEATTLE — Amazon.com Inc. will acquire Whole Foods Market Inc. for $13.7 billion, including debt, in the biggest deal ever for the e-tailer as it continues to encroach on the grocery sector. Amazon will pay $42 a share in cash for the natural food chain, the companies said Friday. Whole Foods cofounder and chief executive
WASHINGTON — Prescription abandonment is sharply higher for branded drugs than generic drugs, a new annual report commissioned by the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) found. AAM said Monday that abandonment — defined as the failure to pick up a new script — was nearly three times as high for brand-name drugs as for generics
BOISE, Idaho — Albertsons Cos. has become the nation’s first pharmacy chain to bill Medicaid for patient consultations about hormonal contraception. The food and drug retailer said that as part of a collaborative effort to improve access to hormonal contraception for Oregon women, selected Albertsons Cos. pharmacies can now bill the state’s Medicaid plans for
CHICAGO — While purchases by multicultural Americans over-index across beauty care categories, major brands are just now starting to look seriously at this growing consumer segment and put forth novel products to meet their needs. That is the assessment of Courtney Jones, vice president of multicultural growth and strategy at Nielsen. Higher-end and niche brands
