TRICARE Promises Continued Access to Prescription Meds (Walgreens dispute)

U.S. Dept. Of Defense ^ | 9/15/11 | Donna Miles

[Evil Slayer]

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2011 – A dispute between Walgreens and a TRICARE contractor will not stop beneficiaries from getting their prescriptions filled, despite a Walgreen’s ad campaign to the contrary, a TRICARE official said today.

Don’t let that advertising, letter and Internet outreach campaign scare you, Navy Rear Adm. Christine Hunter, deputy director of the TRICARE Management Activity, said. Even if contract renewal negotiations fall through and Walgreens drops out of TRICARE’s retail pharmacy network on Jan. 1, beneficiaries still will have plenty of other options for getting their prescriptions filled.

Hunter called the dispute between Walgreens and Express Scripts, Inc., the contractor for TRICARE’s retail pharmacy and pharmacy home delivery programs “a business matter” between the two companies.

A similar impasse between the two companies in 2008 ultimately was resolved by mid-November, about six weeks before the new contract was to take effect, she noted.

Walgreens is a big player in the TRICARE pharmacy network, with about 7,000 participating outlets that Hunter said have filled prescriptions for one in 10 TRICARE beneficiaries at one time or another.

Concerned about a campaign that has alarmed some TRICARE beneficiaries, Hunter offered assurance today that regardless of how this year’s negotiations go, patients will always have access to the medications they need.

“If Walgreens does drop out or fail to renew their relationship with ESI so they are not included in the network, patients will still have 56,000 other pharmacies to obtain their medications at retail,” she said. “We have a very, very broad network” that, for the vast majority of beneficiaries, ensures them access to a participating pharmacy within two miles of their homes.

Meanwhile, Hunter emphasized other options TRICARE beneficiaries can use to get their medications: a TRICARE military treatment facility or the increasingly popular mail- order and home-delivery plans.

[Evil Slayer]

“Ping”

[originalbuckeye]

Marine Boy still thinks TRICARE will survive Obamacare. I told him there will be no TRICARE after the Gov’t takes over our health care system. Wave bye-bye to good care received with efficiency. The Gov’t doesn't actually want to spend all that money on your health........they just want ALL THE MONEY.

[OSHA]

I'm getting notices that WG may not be available to me after Jan 1. I hope they can reach agreement with Express Scrips because I really, really, really like WG!

[RobertClark]

The Gov’t doesn't actually want to spend all that money on your health........they just want ALL THE MONEY.

Truer words have never been written. Also, I agree that TRICARE will NOT survive Obamacare. 2014 will bring about changes that most people cannot, at this point, fathom.

[supermop]

I pulled out of ESI because they were filling my Rx at a rapid pace and billing Tricare. When I quit I had a one year supply of one drug and 4 other Rx’s with 9 months supply. Went to neighborhood Walmart Where I personally know the Lead Pharmacist. With their $4 prescriptions I am not spending any more that I did with ESI

[sockmonkey]

I hope they can reach agreement with Express Scrips because I really, really, really like WG!

My Mom has Tricare and uses Express Scripts through CVS. Here, Walgreens usually has a really long waiting line at the Pharmacy..CVS doesn't.

[Rider on the Rain]

Why is $4 for a 30 day supply at Walmart not more than $3 for a 90 day supply from Express Scripts?

[originalbuckeye]

And all those who think it will be FREE will be appalled at how much their taxes go up to pay for it all. And the care will not even be close to what they are used to having. It will be the shock of their lives. I hope we can prevent it.

[USMCWife6869]

We can also get meds at Wal-Mart, Target, Rite-Aid, etc, etc. Nice try on the panic, Walgreens. I don’t use the Naval Hospital unless it’s an emergency, and I have never had any trouble at all getting my meds anywhere in the country, despite never stepping foot in Walgeens. I have severe asthma, so I use meds daily, and have had emergencies while on vacation, and I have NEVER had an issue with any pharmacy. I prefer a local Pharmacy (Real-O) because it’s personal and the pharmacist is amazing, but I use Target and Wal-Mart as back-ups. We are TriCare Prime.

[Evil Slayer]

The following changes to the TRICARE pharmacy copayments are scheduled to go into effect Oct. 1:

• Generic formulary drugs purchased at retail pharmacies will go from $3 to $5.

• Brand name formulary drugs from retail pharmacies will go from $9 to $12.

• Non-formulary medications will go from $22 to $25 in both retail and Home Delivery.

Read Here

[USMCWife6869]

I don’t mind paying the extra couple of dollars in exchange for not have to deal with the absolute nightmare that is the Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune.