Walgreen’s Proves Why It’s America’s Most Trusted Pharmacy

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens. All opinions are 100% mine.

Best Movies Ever Entertainment News has been lucky to provide healthcare coverage to our writers even in this crazy economy. Recently, I was shocked to learn that Express Scripts has chosen not to renegotatiate a new contract with Walgreens as of December 31, 2011 which wound up affecting our crew.

You can read more about the Walgreens and Express Script renegotiations issue at the blue link.

Several of our writers voiced their concern as this made national headlines so we checked out what was really going on. Basically, Express Scripts was more concerned about their bottom line than the customers who purchase from them through Walgreen’s who, unknown to me, fills one out of every five prescriptions in the U.S. This was a much bigger deal than I realized. Even more shocking was when one of our staff, who served in Iraq, found out that his Tricare coverage (health and prescription drug program for America’s military service men and women) was impacted because Express Scripts refused to negotiate even when Walgreens agreed to do separate contracts for military personnel through Tricare.

Since our crew has been affected, I know that many of you readers are going through the same thing or may not even be aware that this is happening. So check with your local Walgreens pharmacist to find out for sure if you’re affected or could be affected by this. You can also check the back of your prescription insurance card – if it has Express Scripts’ name there, then you just might be affected. If it doesn’t say Express Scripts, then you’re okay.

walgreens prescription discount savings club 2012

Having been a longtime Walgreen’s customer, it’s great to see that they really do care and here’s what they’re doing to minimize this unnecessary disruption for their customers. If you discover that you’re affected by Express Scripts Walgreen’s is offering a special discount on annual membership for its Walgreens Prescription Savings Club. An individual can join during the special January promotion for only $5, or $10 for a family membership 9which includes spouse, dependents under 22 years of age and pets), and receive savings on more than 8,000 brand name and all generic medications. More than 400 generics are available with a three-month supply for less than $1 a week. Regular annual membership is $20 for an individual and $35 for a family. Interestingly enough, the family membership also includes family pets. How could Express Scripts not want to negotiate with a company that takes care of everyone?

So here’s what you can get for just $5.

Join and receive discount prices on your prescriptions. Other benefits include:

Walgreens and Express Script

Savings on more than 8,000 brand-name and all generic medications
Discounts on flu shots, pet prescriptions, nebulizers and diabetic supplies
Bonuses when you purchase Walgreens and Nice! brand products and photofinishing services**

Here’s a little interesting FYI:

A Walgreens proprietary survey of 823 executives and managers who are key decision makers for pharmacy benefit decisions or provide input found that 82 percent of employers said that they would not exclude Walgreens for less than 5 percent savings on their total pharmacy spend. Sixty percent of employers would not exclude Walgreens for less than 10 percent savings, and 21 percent would not exclude Walgreens from their network regardless of the amount of savings. These findings on employer attitudes are consistent with recent research published by several leading equity research analysts.

I can easily see why most employers, myself included, value Walgreen’s pharmacy option for their employees, and shame on Express Scripts for wanting to take that away.

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