Lupin 2024

Fred’s strengthens management team

MEMPHIS — Fred’s Inc. has strengthened its executive leadership team with two recent hires and a promotion. Most recently the regional discount and drug chain added Gregory Froton as senior vice president of merchandising, general merchandise, and promoted Kimberley Felice-Dooley to the position of senior vice president of merchandising, consumables. In December the company appointed

Grim outlook for health insurance exchanges

Grim outlook for health insurance exchanges

WASHINGTON — Humana Inc.’s decision to pull out of the health insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act threatens to cripple Obama­care before Republican lawmakers bent on its repeal can cobble together a ­replacement. The Humana decision came one day before the Trump White House issued a proposed rule that attempts to offer insurers

Trump strikes blow at Affordable Care Act

Trump strikes blow at Affordable Care Act

WASHINGTON — In his first executive order after taking office, President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to waive or delay any provisions of the Affordable Care Act they consider onerous to individuals, states or insurers. The order contained few specifics, however, and raised more questions about the fate and direction of the country’s health care

Republicans in Congress set stage for repeal of ACA

Republicans in Congress set stage for repeal of ACA

WASHINGTON — Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives are aggressively pushing ahead with measures to repeal the Affordable Care Act despite the fact that they have no coherent alternative to replace it. Health care industry analysts and trade associations have warned that repealing or gutting the law without an adequate substitute could create

Fred’s agrees to acquire 865 Rite Aid stores

Fred’s agrees to acquire 865 Rite Aid stores

NEW YORK — Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA) and Rite Aid Corp. have agreed to sell 865 Rite Aid stores and related assets to Fred’s Inc. for $950 million in cash. The deal is subject to approval by the Federal Trade Commission as well as approval and completion of the pending WBA acquisition of Rite

Transformation of Fred’s well under way, CEO says

MEMPHIS — Fred’s Inc.’s purchase of nearly 900 Rite Aid stores will accelerate the regional chain’s health care growth strategy, according to ichief executive officer Mike Bloom. “This will be a transformative event for Fred’s Pharmacy,” Bloom says. “We believe that this transaction will also create tremendous opportunities for both our new and existing front-of-store

Rise in U.S. health care spending outpaces economic growth

WASHINGTON — Health care spending in the United States grew 5.8% to $3.2 trillion during 2015, according to a new study by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ­Services (CMS). On a per capita basis, U.S. health care spending grew 5% to $9,990 per person. The overall increase exceeded the 5.5% rise projected by CMS

Retail innovations continue to emerge at Amazon

Retail innovations continue to emerge at Amazon

SEATTLE — Amazon.com Inc. continues to push the retail innovation envelope, recently unveiling a store without checkouts and field testing delivery by drones in the United Kingdom. The 1,800-square-foot Amazon Go store perhaps most closely resembles a high-end, high-tech convenience store. Customers do not need to scan their purchases or go through a checkout line.

21st Century Cures Act signed into law

21st Century Cures Act signed into law

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama today signed the landmark 21st Century Cures Act into law. At a ceremony with Vice President Joe Biden, who helped shepherd the sweeping health bill through Congress, Obama said the new law “touches every family across America” and “unleashes the full force of American innovation.” The 21st Century Cures Act

Walgreens builds specialty pharmacy community

Walgreens builds specialty pharmacy community

BOSTON — Specialty medications have emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments of the overall pharmacy field. But while the specialty segment has garnered headlines mainly for the financial boon it has provided to some manufacturers or others within the industry, a Walgreens specialty pharmacy here provides a revelatory look at what these specialty facilities

Trump, Clinton part ways on health care policy

Trump, Clinton part ways on health care policy

NEW YORK — With the 2016 presidential election drawing near, health care has emerged as a policy area in which the two major candidates’ differences are strikingly clear. A useful starting point might be their respective approaches to prescription drug pricing. The Republican candidate, Donald Trump, created a sensation in January when he advocated allowing

Kroger ups stake in specialty pharmacy

Kroger ups stake in specialty pharmacy

CINCINNATI — Axium Pharmacy Holdings Inc., a unit of Kroger Co., has agreed to acquire Modern HC Holdings Inc. (ModernHEALTH), a specialty pharmacy operator, to create a combined specialty pharmacy organization. Terms of the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, were not disclosed. The new entity will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of

WBA strikes franchising deal in South Korea

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA) has signed an agreement to form a franchise partnership with Emart Co., a subsidiary of South Korea’s largest retailer, Shinsegae Group. Under the terms of the partnership, the two companies will create a pharmacy-led health and beauty retail franchise in South Korea operating under the Boots banner.

Canadians ponder health care sustainability

TORONTO — The Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada (Neighbourhood Pharmacies) has responded to a recent communiqué issued by Canada’s provincial and territorial premiers regarding the nation’s health care system. While expressing support for the premiers’ concern about the system’s economic sustainaibility, Neighbourhood Pharmacies emphasizes that health care sustainability must include pharmaceutical pricing models that deliver

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