Walgreen’s change flips UPMC scripts [The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]

Jan. 18--Jessica Stanislaw was forced to switch pharmacies at the beginning of this year, and she's not happy about it.

The 31-year-old from North Huntingdon is one of thousands in Western Pennsylvania who were unable get prescription medications at Walgreen Co. pharmacies starting Jan. 1.

"I just don't understand how they can dictate where I get my prescriptions filled," said Stanislaw, a certified brain injury specialist who works in a group home.

Stanislaw and everyone else with pharmacy benefits through UPMC Health Plan insurance must pay out-of-network prices for prescriptions at Walgreen's because the national drug store chain couldn't reach a new service contract with the company that manages UPMC Health Plan's pharmacy benefits.

The contract dispute between Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen's and Express Scripts Inc. in St. Louis is causing problems for consumers across the United States. But in Western Pennsylvania, UPMC Health Plan is the only insurer that works with Express Scripts.

UPMC Health Plan is the No. 2 health insurer in the region, with about 1.5 million members, most of whom have pharmacy benefits.

In addition, some people with Highmark Inc. health insurance are finding they can't fill their prescriptions at Walgreen's 60 stores in the Pittsburgh region.

Highmark, the state's largest health insurer, on Jan. 1 began a two-year transition of its 2.5 million members with pharmacy access to a new network that does not include Walgreen's or Target pharmacies.

About 100,000 Highmark small-group members at about 7,700 companies were moved into the new network at the beginning of the year, including Dave Robinson, a 45-year-old from Bon Air.

Robinson and his wife have four medications they take regularly and had found Walgreen's to offer the best prices. Now Robinson, who's self-employed, has to call around to pharmacies in the South Hills to determine prices.

It's not about convenience, he said, there are plenty of pharmacies within a reasonable distance to his home. He's annoyed about being told he has to switch and having to put in the shopping effort.

Highmark officials argued last month that by reducing the number of pharmacy chains in its network, it could negotiate better prices.

So far, Robinson has found that one of his blood pressure drugs is about $11 a month cheaper. But he hasn't checked on the others.

"I hoping they're competitive," he said.

But for Matt Thomas the change means losing a higher level of customer service. The 47-year-old from Moon was on a first-name basis at Walgreen's.

"That makes you feel that they're really looking out for your best interests," he said.

Thomas now gets his prescriptions filled at a Giant Eagle store in Moon, where he said the waiting time is longer.

Giant Eagle is trying to capture new business by advertising to former Walgreen's customers, spokesman Dick Roberts said.

The supermarket chain ran full-page ads in newspapers on Sunday to attract former Walgreen's customers. Rite Aid pharmacies and other grocery store pharmacies in the region are welcoming former Walgreen's customers with signs and placards.

"Through a targeted outreach to these new potential customers, we have welcomed many new families to the Giant Eagle Pharmacy," Roberts said.

Stanislaw, meanwhile, has switched to a Rite Aid pharmacy in North Huntingdon.

The service is fine at Rite Aid but not as personal as it was at Walgreen's, Stanislaw said.

"Now I have to go about rebuilding that relationship with another pharmacy," she said.

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