In case any of you have your prescription drug coverage administrated by CVS Caremark, you should know that Caremark has announced that starting next month, it will no longer be reimbursing prescription drugs that are filled at Walgreen’s drugstores. Walgreen’s has already announced that it expects that its 7,000 Walgreen’s drugstores will be removed from the Caremark network in 30 days. Caremark has also announced that it will be removing the Walgreen’s drugstore from its Medicare Part D retail pharmacy network on Jan. 1.
Caremark is one of the largest pharmacy benefit management companies in the country, so if you’re not sure who administrates your prescription drug coverage, you should check with your health insurance as soon as possible so you don’t get stuck with prescription drug claims that can’t be reimbursed. Pharmacy benefit companies like Caremark negotiate contracts with employers and handle the prescription drug benefit part of their health plans, paying pharmacies to fill prescriptions.
The announcements come as tense negotiations between the two prescription drug giants over prescription drug reimbursement broke down recently. Walgreen’s, the largest drugstore chain in the country, receives about 7 percent of its revenue from Caremark prescriptions, or about $4.5 billion in its last fiscal year. Caremark handled almost 660 million prescriptions in 2009.
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