Walgreens, the largest drugstore chain in the U.S., announced its decision to extend its multi-year agreement with OptumRx.
The agreement will build on its strategic partnership with OptumRx, a major pharmacy benefit manager in the United States. OptumRx is part of Optum, a UnitedHealth Group, and manages the prescription drug benefits of commercial, Medicare, Medicaid and other governmental health plans.
According to the agreement, Walgreens will deliver continue access to its pharmacy services at more than 7,800 locations nationwide for members of prescription drug benefit plans managed by OptumRx. No financial terms were disclosed.
The extension of the contract follows Walgreen posting four straight months of same-store sales drops after the drug- store chain left Express Scripts Holding Co.'s pharmacy-benefits manager's network on January 1.
Walgreens was also in the news last week, as Express Scripts dropped its lawsuit regarding Walgreen's marketing tactics. The lawsuit was filed last year, after the relationship between the drugstore chain and pharmacy-benefit manager terminated.
"Walgreens offers both the pharmacy and overall health care value sought by PBMs like OptumRx who are developing differentiated member services and benefits for their clients," said Kermit Crawford, Walgreens president of pharmacy, health and wellness. "We help drive down total health care costs through our industry-leading generic dispensing and conversion rates and our broad range of additional clinical services and advice that help improve patient care and health outcomes."
"This is a great opportunity to ensure our current and prospective customers have a broad range of options, including access to premier retail outlets like Walgreens, to help meet their health care needs," said Dirk McMahon, chief executive officer at OptumRx. "Walgreens and OptumRx share a commitment to quality, safety and affordability for all our customers."
Edited by
Braden Becker
