Massive PBM Merger Bad Idea For Patients
Posted from former Representative Eva Clayton, spokesperson for the Preserve Community Pharmacy Access NOW! coalition.As we have observed politicians at every level debating the issue of health care...
View ArticleNational Black Chamber Of Commerce Sends Open Letter To Express Scripts
The National Black Chamber of Commerce sent the following open letter to Express Scripts Inc. today. Click here to see the full letter on their website, and download a PDF version of the letter here.An...
View ArticleWhy The Mega-PBM Merger Matters, & Why The FTC Should Stop It
By Dennis Archer, Chief Legal Advisor to Preserve Community Pharmacy Access NOW!There’s always a lot of activity as we enter into a new year, people are returning to work, businesses are mapping out...
View ArticleWill The FTC Heed The Growing Opposition To Mega-PBM Deal?
As the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) nears a decision on the mega-merger between PBM giants Express Scripts and Medco Health Solutions, the opposition grows louder and more insistent that the deal...
View ArticleBloomberg: End Of Days For Independent Pharmacies?
Community pharmacies are waging the battle of a lifetime – defending their longtime customers, employees and integrity – against a gigantic medication machine known as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs)....
View ArticleAnti-Competitive Mega-PBM Merger May Be Delayed By Potential Suit
Attorneys general in California, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Texas are concerned that the Federal Trade Commission will approve the mega-merger between Express Scripts and Medco without conditions...
View ArticleStop The Express Scripts-Medco Merger Or Suffer The Consequences Of An...
By Dennis ArcherAfter graduating from Western Michigan University, I was privileged to teach and work with some very important people—learning disabled children. These children needed a quality...
View ArticleLow Reimbursement Rates Could Force Texas Pharmacies To Close
Community pharmacies in Texas are in danger. With health care access in rural areas already limited in some parts of the state, many Texans rely on their community pharmacist as one of their primary...
View ArticleCalifornia Medi-Cal Cuts Hurt the Most Vulnerable
California is in the midst of another budget crisis, and Governor Brown is looking to take $1.8 billion from the state’s Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, to help make up the shortfall. As part of...
View ArticleStudy: Less is Not More in Medicaid Managed Care
With state budgets in bad shape, many legislatures are turning to cutting state programs in desperate attempt to stem the tide of deficits. Among these plans is the move to shift Medicaid patients to a...
View ArticleNew York Times: Texas Medicaid Overhaul Means Pain For Some Pharmacists
Texas began its Medicaid managed care overhaul this past spring, and the transition has been anything but a smooth one. The new system is controversial for many reasons, with many patient advocates and...
View ArticleIllinois Cares Rx Program Ends on June 30
The Illinois Cares Rx Program comes to an end tomorrow, and will leave some 165,000 seniors without the financial assistance they need to pay for medications or Medicare Part D premiums. The cuts are...
View ArticleCalifornia Medicaid Patients Struggling Under Managed Care
California approved moving patients enrolled in Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program, to a managed care system last year, and the transition has been a rocky one for many California patients,...
View ArticleIndependent Pharmacies Threatened By States' Shift To Managed Care
With the Affordable Care Act's recent approval from The Supreme Court, focus in the nation's health care debate has shifted to the state level. In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott has vowed not to expand...
View ArticlePharmacists Group: Pharmacies Need Level Playing Field
Pharmacist groups are raising concerns about several issues facing their industry this week, including concerns about state-run Medicaid programs, and the encroaching amount of power held by corporate...
View ArticleStates Limiting Prescription Access for Medicaid Patients
Federal Medicaid regulations don’t require states to cover prescription drugs, yet most states do have drug coverage under their state Medicaid programs. But that fact is rapidly changing. With many...
View ArticleTexas Managed Care System Causing Pharmacies To Close
In an interview with KLBJ in Austin, Danny Vela, pharmacy owner in Texas and member of the Rio Grande Valley Independent Pharmacy Association, talks about how the state has taken an efficiently run...
View ArticleNational Grange: Pharmacists Important To Rural Communities
The National Grange has recently come to the defense of community pharmacists in rural areas, many of whom are in danger of losing their businesses to drastic changes to Medicaid at the state level. In...
View ArticleFlorida's Medicaid Reform Plan Applied Nationwide? Think Again.
An article in the Bradenton Herald last week posed the question, “Can Florida’s Medicaid reform plan be the model for the nation?” And it’s a very good question. Florida is barely into its managed-care...
View ArticleFlu Season Awareness: Go to a Pharmacy For a Flu Shot
Flu season is in full swing, and many are clamoring for their vaccines to try and keep the dreaded illness at bay. October is also American Pharmacist Month, so this is a great time for a reminder...
View Article"Mis-managed" Care
Managed care systems for Americans on Medicaid, when executed incorrectly, don’t benefit anyone. And considering the level of mismanagement taking place in some states, others should seriously...
View ArticleVideo: Mail Order Pharmacy Waste
This video featuring pharmacist Todd Pendergraft of Broken Arrow Family Drugs gives us an up close and personal look at the incredible about of waste (in both dollars and prescription drugs) that is...
View ArticleLawsuit Alleges Blue Cross Keeping HIV/AIDS Patients Out Of Pharmacies
A new lawsuit filed in California this week alleges that Blue Cross is discriminating against HIV/AIDS patients, among others, forcing patients with certain preexisting conditions to use mail-order...
View ArticleLA Times: Battle Over 'Biosimilars'
Why are some states standing in the way of cheaper versions of biologic drugs that the FDA deems safe? An editorial appeared in the Los Angeles Times on Sunday which discusses how biosimilars can help...
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