Walgreens No Longer Contracted with Express Scripts. What it Means for You

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

After months of attempting to iron out a new contract with Express Scripts, Walgreens and Express Script  are no longer partners in medicine. If you have a prescription plan through Express Scripts, you may or may not be affected by this fallout, but should check with your Walgreen's pharmacist to be sure.

This is unfortunate news for millions of customers who've come to rely on the convenience of Walgreens. I'm a Walgreens customer because of their extended store hours, some even offer 24 hour pharmacy drive-thru service. That's a big deal when your children are ill. We once needed a prescription filled at 2 AM after leaving the ER and Walgreens was there for us. We've also come to rely on them for late night cold medicine runs!

The impact for many will be that of convenience and perhaps cost. Walgreens offers an extensive number of generic prescription medications (more than many of their competitors) and has more locations nationwide than any other pharmacy chain. If you're from Kansas City and need your prescription filled in Orlando, it's no problem. I know, because I've been there.

 

So, what happened? Express Scripts wanted to cut the reimbursement rates to Walgreens to below that of industry standards, this despite the fact that Express Scripts earnings are more than twice industry standard. Additionally, they wanted full control over what would be called generic and non-generic. Walgreens didn't ask for an increase in reimbursements throughout negotiation, they simply wanted to receive the standard reimbursement rate.

In response to the situation Walgreens is offering a special discount on their Walgreens Prescription Savings Club. This will help offset the prescription cost to customers left out in the cold. For only $5 per individual or $10 for a family, this savings plan offers discount prices on flu shots, pet prescriptions, diabetic supplies, nebulizers, and savings on more than 8,000 prescription and generic medications.

Be sure to follow  Walgreens on Twitter and Walgreens on Facebook  to stay on top of all the latest from Walgreens, including money saving offers and incentives.