The law of the land for almost a decade, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 is as controversial now as it was when it was enacted. Republicans’ negative view of the legislation remains diametrically opposed to that of Democrats, public opinion is divided, and the courts continue to issue often contradictory rulings
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — The combination of CVS Health and Aetna marks a new era in U.S. health care. Finalized in late November, the $69 billion deal paves the way for the combined company, whose expertise and assets touch nearly every aspect of patient care, to revolutionize health care delivery and, in the process, complete the
U.S. district court judge Richard Leon put somewhat of a damper on CVS Health’s merger with Aetna earlier this month when he indicated that he might order a halt to the integration of the companies, which finalized their $78 billion tie-up in late November after winning approval from the Department of Justice and state regulators.
There is a lot of talk in the industry about the role of retail pharmacists and how it will change in response to the aspirations of those professionals; the knowledge and expertise they possess; and the needs of a creaking health care system, notably the problems of patient access and rising expenditures. AmerisourceBergen, one of
Despite all the attention that Amazon justifiably receives for the transformational effect it is exerting on mass market retailing, a case can be made that the company that is in the best position to meet the omnichannel needs of consumers over the long term is Walmart. Listening to president and chief executive officer Doug McMillon
For the better part of a decade, Walgreens Boosts Alliance has been engaged in continually rethinking what a chain drug store means to the consumer, and how the format needs to evolve to remain relevant in an era when digital technology is changing the rules of the game in retailing and health care. That process
A little over 40 years ago, the first issue of Chain Drug Review appeared. Founded by publisher Susan Schinitsky and editor David Pinto, the publication was positioned, as Pinto said in his first column for Chain Drug Review, as a “biweekly newspaper written and edited specifically for the chain drug industry.” The thrust of the
The appointment of Jim Donald to succeed Bob Miller as chief executive officer of Albertsons Cos. earlier this month symbolizes the company’s ability to maintain its equilibrium when confronted with adversity and find new ways forward. The food/drug combination store operators’ strategic plan, which was centered on a merger with Rite Aid, was upended in
Amazon’s long anticipated, much ballyhooed entry into the retail pharmacy sector has finally taken place. The e-commerce powerhouse in late June agreed to pay a billion dollars to purchase PillPack, which packages prescription medications in presorted doses, along with over-the-counter health care products and nutritional supplements, and delivers them directly to patients’ homes. Cofounded in
All indications are that CVS Health’s $77 billion acquisition of Aetna is on track to be finalized by the end of the year. The transaction has won the approval of shareholders at both companies, and the management team for the combined organization has been named, even as the government’s review of the deal has proceeded
President Trump has unveiled the administration’s much anticipated plan to reduce pharmaceutical prices. Speaking in the White House Rose Garden last month, the president touted what he characterized as “the most sweeping action in history to lower the prices of prescription drugs for the American people.” Long on rhetoric and short on specifics, the initiative
The National Association of Chain Drug Stores Annual Meeting last month in Palm Beach, Fla., unfolded against a backdrop of rapid-fire change in community pharmacy and the broader retailing and health care sectors. Leaders of many of the nation’s top mass market retailers, including discounters, supermarkets, dollar stores and even online merchants, as well as
CVS Health and Walgreens are commonly referred to as the leaders in the drug store business. The designation usually is meant to convey the scale of their operations compared to that of their competitors in the trade class (sales at Rite Aid Corp., the third-largest drug chain, are less than a quarter of those of
An understanding of the value created by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores’ annual RxImpact Day — for the policy makers and pharmacy advocates who participated, the pharmacy profession as a whole and, ultimately, patients across the country — came into sharp focus during the daylong series of meetings on Capitol Hill that is