Content about Healthcare reform in the United States

Will the merger of Express Scripts and Medco go through? Not if pharmacy lobbyists can stop it. There’s nothing new about the fact that different industry groups connected with retail pharmacy or health care can hold strongly opposing views about what’s good or profitable for their own members. But for undisguised hostility and tit-for-tat charges and countercharges, nothing comes close to the long-running feud between independent pharmacy and the pharmacy benefits management industry.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Several Congress leaders last week penned a letter to the Department of Defense's Director of Tricare Management Activity warning of potential cost increases should the proposed merger between pharmacy benefit managers Express Scripts and Medco Health clear regulatory hurdles.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In a bipartisan effort, Sens. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, along with 12 of their colleagues, have expressed concerns with draft Federal Upper Limits lists for Medicaid generic drug reimbursement that recently have been published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores and National Community Pharmacists Association commended the Senators for the effort.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS/pharmacy has launched a new service on its CVS.com website to assist military service members, veterans and their families who need to transfer their prescriptions to a pharmacy that lets them continue using their Tricare prescription insurance coverage.

WASHINGTON — One-in-eight Americans didn't fill prescriptions last year because they couldn't afford to, but despite difficulties with the economy, that proportion remained level, according to a new study conducted by the Center for Studying Health System Change and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

MENLO PARK, Calif. — The unemployed and underemployed have limited access to health care and, in many cases, are putting off seeking medical care, according to the "Long-Term Unemployed Survey" released on Monday by NPR News and the Kaiser Family Foundation.

When they are sick or need medical advice, the long‐term unemployed and underemployed are much more likely than those with full‐time jobs to say they rely on a hospital emergency room or that they have no usual place to go for care (39% compared with 15% of full‐time employees).

WASHINGTON — More than 250,000 U.S. military personnel, family members, retirees and others in the Department of Defense Tricare pharmacy benefits program, and their supporters, so far have signed petitions demanding access to Walgreens pharmacies under the Tricare pharmacy program, Walgreens reported Thursday.

The pace of petition signatures from Tricare members seeking to retain access to Walgreens and their supporters has reached more than 10,000 per week in recent weeks, the pharmacy operator added.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The recent approval of a 10% reimbursement rate cut in California’s Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has prompted provider groups to file a lawsuit against the California Department of Healthcare Services and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, alleging that the cuts did not follow proper legal channels.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores and National Community Pharmacists Association announced that they have sent joint letters to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction and the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, encouraging the rejection of an Obama administration proposal that would “saddle Tricare beneficiaries with higher prices and penalize their utilization of community pharmacists.”

WASHINGTON — A bill proposed in Congress would give states incentives for using generic drugs through the Medicaid program.

WASHINGTON — Standard monthly premiums under Medicare Part B will be $99.90 in 2012, $6.70 under the projected figure made by the Department of Health and Human Services, HHS announced Thursday.

This year's Medicare Part B premium is a $15.50 decrease over the standard 2011 premium of $115.40 paid by new enrollees and higher income Medicare beneficiaries and by Medicaid on behalf of low-income enrollees, HHS said. Additionally, the Medicare Part B deductible will be $140, a decrease of $22 from 2011.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Medicare Part D beneficiaries will be able to obtain hundreds of generic drugs without any deductible or co-pay under a new program offered by Rite Aid.

The retail pharmacy chain announced Tuesday that it had partnered with Envision Insurance Co. to offer a value-focused prescription drug plan for Medicare Part D Open Enrollment 2012. Rite Aid EnvisionRx Plus offers beneficiaries a plan with a $0 deductible and $0 co-pays, including during the coverage gap, also known as the donut hole.