August 12, 2023 by Jeffrey Woldt
FTC, PBM
August 14, 2023, Opinion
The balance of this year and the first months of 2024 will be a time of testing and potential transformation for retail pharmacy. Several pivotal questions, some of which have plagued the industry for many years, seem to be headed toward resolution. How they are resolved will impact the future trajectory of pharmacy and its
February 16, 2023 by Chain Drug Review
Hoey, NCPA, PBM
Leading Headlines, Pharmacy
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – In a statement released Thursday, National Community Pharmacists Association CEO B. Douglas Hoey says the organization is pleased that two pieces of legislation reintroduced in the Senate in January are advancing through committees of jurisdiction. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Thursday discussed the PBM Transparency Act (S. 127), and reports
February 24, 2022 by Chain Drug Review
NCPA, NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey, PBM
Leading Headlines, Pharmacy
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Large majorities say insurance plans and their pharmacy benefit managers should pay pharmacies fairly for COVID-19 drugs and other life-saving medicines, and they shouldn’t tell patients which pharmacies to use or steer them into their own pharmacies, according to a new national consumer survey released Thursday by the National Community Pharmacists Association.
July 8, 2021 by Chain Drug Review
NCPA, PBM
Leading Headlines, Uncategorized
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association has urged the West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner to watch out for pharmacy benefit manager “games” when developing rules to implement reform legislation approved by Republican Gov. Jim Justice (R). Among other things, HB 2263 will implement reporting requirements to ensure transparency; prevent PBMs from
May 11, 2021 by Chain Drug Review
Alabama, NACDS, PBM
Leading Headlines, Pharmacy, Uncategorized
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The National Association of Chain Drug Stores is hailing Republican Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey for signing into law legislation (Act 2021-341) on May 6 which further regulates pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) and helps ensure that reimbursement rates cover pharmacies’ costs of purchasing drugs. The measure – sponsored by Republican State Sen. Tom
December 10, 2020 by Chain Drug Review
FMI-The Food Industry Association, PBM, Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association
Leading Headlines, Pharmacy
ARLINGTON, Va. – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court released a unanimous decision in the case of Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association that provides a crucial victory to all pharmacy stakeholders seeking the ability to regulate the practices of drug middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). The decision restores Arkansas’ Act 900, a pro-pharmacy, pro-consumer
February 17, 2020 by Chain Drug Review
CVS, PBM
February 17, 2020, News
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health unveiled a new solution that eliminates out-of-pocket costs associated with all diabetes prescription medications, including insulin, for members of the company’s pharmacy benefit manager. Offered through the CVS Caremark PBM, RxZERO enables employers and health plan sponsors to leverage formulary and plan design approaches to offer all categories of diabetes
January 6, 2020 by Jeffrey Woldt
Medicare, DIR fees, front end, PBM
January 6, 2020, Opinion
The new year will be a time of testing for drug stores, as a confluence of forces call into question their function in the marketplace and long-term viability. At the same time that the economics of health care continue to weigh heavily on pharmacy margins, drug store operators must learn how to compete more effectively
September 19, 2018 by Chain Drug Review
Express Scripts, PBM, Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute's (PBMI) 2018 PBM Customer Satisfaction Report, Tim Wentworth
Leading Headlines, Pharmacy, Retail News
ST. LOUI S — According to the Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute’s (PBMI) 2018 PBM Customer Satisfaction Report of plan sponsors, Express Scripts leads the industry in customer satisfaction, earning the highest overall satisfaction rating, 8.1, among large PBMs serving more than 20 million members. Satisfaction is rated on a 10-point scale, with 10 indicating highest satisfaction.
August 25, 2018 by Chain Drug Review
HHS, Larry Merlo, PBM
Issue 08-27-2018
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — The Trump administration’s blueprint to lower drug prices has put the spotlight on the rebates negotiated by pharmacy benefits managers with drug manufacturers. During a recent conference call, CVS Health president and chief executive officer Larry Merlo addressed the issue while making a spirited defense of the role of PBMs in containing
August 24, 2018 by Chain Drug Review
Cigna, Express Scripts, PBM
Leading Headlines, Pharmacy
BROOMFIELD, Conn. — Cigna Corp. shareholders voted Friday to approve the health insurer’s $52 billion purchase of PBM Express Scripts Holding Co. The vote in favor of the acquisition came after activist investor Carl Icahn last week gave up a last-minute effort to get shareholders to nix the deal. The purchase still must be approved
April 30, 2018 by Chain Drug Review
Albert Thigpen, CastiaRx, Diplomat Pharmacy, Joel Saban, PBM
Leading Headlines, Pharmacy, Retail News
FLINT, Mich. — Diplomat Pharmacy has unveiled CastiaRx to respond to industry demand for a leader in specialty benefit management. CastiaRx unites the full-service pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) capabilities of recently acquired LDI Integrated Pharmacy Services and National Pharmaceutical Services with Diplomat’s specialty pharmacy and infusion expertise. According to the IQVIA Institute for Human Data
April 27, 2018 by Dan Leonard
drug prices, National Pharmaceutical Council, PBM
Issue 04-23-2018, Opinion
One of the great paradoxes in medicine today is the reality that drug prices are rising at the lowest level in years, yet both patients and employers are feeling more of a squeeze on drug costs than ever before. Ironically both of these trends — slowing growth, rising pain at the pharmacy counter — have
April 17, 2018 by Chain Drug Review
PBM, pharmacy regulations
Issue 04-09-2018, News
NEW YORK — Pharmacy benefit managers have become the target of state legislation around transparency, with lawmakers attempting to increase regulation and protect patients. Lawmakers believe that increasing transparency within big PBMs would benefit the industry as well as patients through the institution of clear metrics and incentives that would be aligned with the services