Free Republic

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. agreed to buy Rite Aid Corp. for about $9.4 billion, in a move that would create a drugstore giant at a time when companies in nearly every corner of the health-care industry are seeking to gain advantage from bulking up. Walgreens agreed to pay $9 a share in cash for Rite Aid, offering a 48% premium to Rite Aid's closing price Monday. Rite Aid's stock rose 43% to $8.67 Tuesday after The Wall Street Journal reported on the deal talks.

For all of those with HSAs Obamacare as of one week from today will require a doctors prescription to buy over-the counter medications such as aspirin, cold meds etc. Affordable Care Act: Questions and Answers on Over-the-Counter Medicines and Drugs Q. How are the rules changing for reimbursing the cost of over-the-counter medicines and drugs from health flexible spending arrangements (health FSAs) and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs)? A. Section 9003 of the Affordable Care Act established a new uniform standard for medical expenses. Effective Jan. 1, 2011, distributions from health FSAs and HRAs will be allowed to reimburse the cost...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- From a simple storeroom for the pope's pills to a bustling drugstore open to the public, the Vatican pharmacy has come a long way in 134 years. The Vatican says the pharmacy is the busiest in the world; some 2,000 customers stream through its doors daily. The booming business and crowded store led officials to recently expand and open a whole new wing dedicated to top-brand beauty-care products and sparkly glass bottles of perfume. If it weren't for the large antique, hand-painted ceramic "arborelli," or medicinal urns, topping the cabinets and the portraits of Pope Benedict...

Nancy Pelosi and her congressional Democrats have a winning sound bite when it comes to Medicare: Let the government negotiate drug prices for seniors. That way, elderly Americans can get cheaper medicine. That's a tough argument for Republicans to go up against, especially since they just lost control of most everything there is to lose control of in Washington. Putting your party on the side of seniors is always better than appearing to defend the baddies in the drug industry. But a fundamental point is at stake in this debate over influencing drug prices, one of the Democrats' first "100-hour"...