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DEERFIELD, Ill. — Advocare Walgreens Well Network, Diagnostic Clinic Walgreens Well Network and Scott & White Walgreens Well Network have been selected as three of 106 new Accountable Care Organizations in Medicare, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Thursday.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — While the "fiscal cliff" bill heads off the most severe tax implications for most Americans, the 25.8 million Americans with diabetes may find this bill a bitter pill to swallow, suggested the National Community Pharmacists Association in a press release issued Wednesday. 

PHILADELPHIA — The changing healthcare environment and the challenges and opportunities of specialty pharmacy were the biggest themes at Acro Pharmaceutical Services' sixth annual Payer and Managed Care Symposium in Philadelphia last Thursday.

Representatives from drug makers and across the specialty pharmacy space met at the Hyatt at the Bellevue to discuss a wide variety of topics related to specialty pharmacy.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association on Wednesday commended seven U.S. Representatives for recently writing the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to urge the agency to allow independent community pharmacists to continue same-day home delivery of diabetes test supplies to certain Medicare beneficiaries. 

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid is making its pharmacists available free of charge to seniors and their caregivers for personalized Medicare Part D consultations. Seniors can also use Rite Aid's dedicated Medicare Advisor comparison tools online at RiteAid.com/medicareadvisor.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — With the Medicare Annual Election Period set to begin Oct. 15, Walgreens on Wednesday announced it will be a part of preferred pharmacy networks of four national Medicare Part D plan sponsors: Coventry, Humana, SmartD Rx and UnitedHealthcare.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Abusive auditing and unfair reimbursement practices harm community pharmacists’ ability to provide critically needed patient counseling and care to seniors, according to a new survey released Tuesday by the National Community Pharmacists Association.

NCPA polled more than 350 community pharmacists about their recent experience with audits conducted by pharmacy benefit managers and other Medicare Part D plan intermediaries. The survey also asked about generic drug reimbursement caps known as maximum allowable costs (MACs). 

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Louisiana pharmacist Randy Mire testified before Congress Tuesday that efforts to combat the diabetes epidemic in his home state and elsewhere would be significantly undermined if independent community pharmacies like his are forced to stop offering diabetes testing supplies as a result of Medicare’s competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment, according to a National Community Pharmacists Association release.

Mire appeared on behalf of NCPA before the U.S. House Small Business Subcommittee on Healthcare and Technology.

WASHINGTON — Former secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt will lead presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's transition planning should Romney win the fall elections, according to a report published Wednesday by National Journal Daily.

Leavitt helped author the prescription coverage under Medicare Part D during his tenure at HHS.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target Clinic has inked a new strategic relationship with healthcare system Duke Medicine in an effort to provide greater access to care at four new Target Clinic locations in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., which opened on July 29.

Physicians from Duke Primary Care will provide medical directorship services, such as availability for consultation with Target Clinic providers and regular chart reviews, at the four new clinics.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — The idea of pharmacists as the most accessible healthcare professionals isn't just some hokey marketing gimmick: It's a readily observable fact, and one that will become increasingly important as retail pharmacies and retail clinics play a greater role on the front lines of care.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Watson Pharmaceuticals is suing the Food and Drug Administration, alleging that an agency decision would improperly delay its release of a generic drug for diabetes, the company said Wednesday.