Walgreen named preferred pharmacy in Express Scripts Medicare drug plans

Oct. 02--Senior citizens enrolled next year in one of Express Scripts'Medicare Part D plans can save money on medications if they opt to fill their prescriptions at a Walgreens pharmacy.

Starting in January, the preferred network for Express Scripts'Medicare Part D will not include the same major pharmacy retailers that it did last year, the St. Louis County-based pharmacy benefit manager announced Wednesday.

Last year's preferred network included the grocery store chains Safeway, Kroger, Publix and big box retailers such as Costco, Target, Walmart and Kmart. The only chain pharmacy included was Rite-Aid/Duane Reed.

There are also 18,500 independent pharmacies that are part of this narrower preferred network.

Express Scripts'Medicare Part D beneficiaries will still be able to fill prescriptions at those locations but the cost savings won't be as large as those offered at Walgreens and the independent pharmacies that now make up the preferred network for 2015, the company said in a statement.

Medicare Part D is mostly an optional prescription drug plan available to seniors who are enrolled in Medicare Part A or Part B for health insurance coverage.

Those beneficiaries who choose to go to Walgreens and the independent pharmacies will either have no copay or a $1 copay for generics designated as "tier 1" drugs. Beneficiaries will also pay reduced copays for "tier 2" generics.

But beneficiaries who are enrolled in Express Scripts'Medicare Part D "Choice" plan and who opt for Express Scripts' home delivery system will have no copayment for tier 1 and a $10 copay for tier 2 generic medications with a 90-day supply.

"Basically, Walgreen is taking pricing concessions to be part of the Part D networks for Express," Morningstar analyst Vishnu Lekraj said. The theory is that by participating in Express Scripts' preferred network for Part D could mean more foot traffic to its stores and in turn more sales, Lekraj said.

In 2014, Express Scripts' Part D plans covered 400,000 beneficiaries, according to spokeswoman Jennifer Luddy.

Samantha Liss is a business reporter at the Post-Dispatch. Follow her on Twitter @samanthann and the business section @postdispatchbiz.

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