WASHINGTON — Democrats in the House and the Senate are now working to reconcile their visions of health care reform legislation, hoping to pass a final bill before President Obama’s State of the Union address. As expected, the Senate passed its version of the bill in a 60-39 party-line vote on Christmas Eve. “We are
WASHINGTON — A new study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) provides support for community pharmacy’s efforts to reform Medicaid reimbursement rates. The study, requested by Sen. Charles Grassley (R., Iowa), supports the argument of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) that reimbursement rates mandated by the
SEATTLE — Citing recent reductions in Medicaid reimbursement rates, Bartell Drugs has said it will stop filling Medicaid prescriptions at 15 of its 57 stores, effective February 1. The situation in Washington state stems from a court decision in late September, which effectively reduced the average wholesale prices (AWPs) used to calculate reimbursement rates. Bartell
MIAMI — Navarro Discount Pharmacies has named Steve Kaczynski as its new chief executive officer. He succeeds Marcio Cabrera, who filled the role on an interim basis while serving as managing director of MBF Healthcare Partners, which owns the 28-store Navarro chain. Before joining Navarro Kaczynski was president and chief executive officer of Bigg’s, a
NEW YORK — Community pharmacies across the country began offering H1N1 vaccines late last month after state health agencies lifted priority group restrictions on the inoculations. “We share with government and health officials nationwide the goal of protecting as many people as possible from the H1N1 virus, while helping to lessen the impact or prevent
DEERFIELD, Ill. — In another round of executive changes at Walgreen Co., Mike Arnoult has been appointed vice president of Customer-Centric Retailing (CCR), the retailer’s store optimization initiative. As the head of CCR, Arnoult replaces Chong Bang, who left in December to join Shoppers Drug Mart. Walgreens president and chief executive officer Greg Wasson told
NEW YORK — Despite the lingering recession, the chain drug industry finished 2009 with solid gains in revenue. Overall drug store chain sales for the year rose 7.4% to $226.11 billion, while same-store sales grew 3.4%, according to research by Racher Press, publisher of Chain Drug Review. However, December was a different story as positive
CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid Corp. has set out to make shopping its stores fun, and possibly profitable, by launching a contest promotion based on a classic board game. Called Rite Aid The Game of Life, and based on the Hasbro Inc. game, the promotion gives customers the chance to win $5 million in
Chain drug retailing has changed dramatically in the first decade of the 21st century. Nowhere have those changes been more evident than in the character and content of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. Here are some examples of the changes that NACDS has seen over the past decade: • In 2000 Alan Levin
The new year promises to be pivotal for retail pharmacy, with internal and external factors coalescing to shape the profession’s future direction. The likelihood that the health care reform legislation now being hammered out in negotiations between the House and Senate will be signed into law by President Obama is, understandably, the industry’s top priority.
