Consumers Seek Pharmacy
CONTRACT DISPUTE FORCES SOME WALGREENS CUSTOMERS TO LEAVE
Posted: December 18, 2011 at 5:37 a.m.
Jon Ragan, pharmacist at HealthMart Pharmacy, fills a prescription at the business Tuesday in Springdale. Rules are changing with users who have Express Scripts as a benefit manager, which won’t allow Walgreens to be used to fill prescriptions starting in January. Local pharmacies hope to increase their business with the change.
Thousands of area residents are searching for new pharmacies following a contract dispute between Walgreens and one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit managers.
BY THE NUMBERS
WHO ARE THE BIGGEST PLAYERS?
Benefit Managers
About 60 pharmacy benefit managers operate in the United States.
The largest according to 2010 market share:
Medco: 18 percent
CVS/Caremark: 17 percent
Argus: 13 percent
Express Scripts: 12 percent
Prescription Solutions: 7 percent
ACS: 7 percent
MedImpact: 4 percent
Prime Therapeutics: 3 percent
Catalyst Rx: 2 percent
SXC Health: 1 percent
Other: 16 percent
Pharmacies
Walgreens has the largest market share for pharmacies, growing almost 7 percent between 2006 and 2011. Pharmacies and their 2011 anticipated market share:
Walgreens: 27.8 percent
CVS: 23.5 percent
Rite Aid: 7.1 percent
Walmart: 6.3 percent
Kroger: 3 percent
Safeway: 1.6 percent
Stop and Shop: 1.4 percent
SuperValu: 1.2 percent
Target: 1.2 percent
Sears: 1 percent
Sam’s Club: 0.7 percent
Other: 25.2 percent
SOURCE: CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS
AT A GLANCE
WHAT IS A PHARMACY BENEFIT MANAGER?
Pharmacy benefit managers help clients, which include health plans, self-insured employers, union-sponsored plans and public purchasers, including Medicare Part D, Medicaid and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, extend prescription drug benefits to more than 210 million Americans.
About 60 benefit managers handle the majority of prescription drug expenditures. They aggregate the buying clout of enrollees through client health plans, enabling plan sponsors and individuals to get lower prices for prescription drugs through discounts from retail pharmacies, rebates from pharmaceutical manufacturers and the efficiencies of mail-service pharmacies.
SOURCE: PHARMACEUTICAL CARE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
This story is only available from the archives. Click here to contact the online desk.
Business, Pages 11 on 12/18/2011
(Advertisement)
« Previous Story
Expansion To Benefit Businesses
David Renfroe, a mechanical engineer, never dreamed of designing safer utility terrain vehicles for manufactur... Read »
Next Story »
Working Holidays Part Of Season
The holiday rush means different things to different people. Many are rushing to finish holiday shopping, deco... Read »
Comments
To report abuse or misuse of this area please hit the "Suggest Removal" link in the comment to alert our online managers. Please read our comment policy.
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Registration is required to make comments. Click here to LOGIN.
You can register for FREE to post comments and receive alerts.