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CVS Caremark will use the value-based drug pricing system of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review to exclude some high-cost drugs from plans...The pharmacy benefit manager will incorporate ICER's quality-adjusted life years measure. If a drug is priced greater than $100,000 per QALY at launch, CVS Caremark will allow its clients to exclude the drug from their plan...CVS is hoping the decision will give PBMs more power in pressuring drug prices lower, especially by targeting their launch prices...PhRMA...supports using "rigorous, objective evidence to guide formulary decision-making”...”At the same time, we strongly oppose misuse of subjective, one-size-fits-all cost effectiveness thresholds to deny patient access to life saving treatment options,"..."As many stakeholders have noted, blunt cost-effectiveness thresholds ignore what individual patient and providers value and conflict with the movement toward personalized, 21st century health care."

Walgreens Boots Alliance is launching a new digital marketplace that will connect the pharmacy chain's mobile visitors to its drugstores as well as local doctors and clinics...The move comes as Walgreens, CVS Health, Walmart and other brick-and-mortar retailers with health services face the possibility online retailer Amazon will expand deeper into the healthcare business...But Walgreens is stressing ties to local healthcare providers, which Amazon doesn’t yet have...Walgreens “Find Care Now” platform lists cash prices for healthcare services for everything from a local clinic or optometrist to the cost of a telehealth vendor’s virtual doctor consultation. For now, there are 16 local health systems and national healthcare providers participating in Find Care Now but Walgreens said they expect more to join the marketplace.

A woman in Arizona made the brave choice this week, to make a very private loss — a miscarriage — into a public discussion, in the hopes that her story can save other women from what she went through at her local Walgreens. The pharmacist there refused to fill the prescription required to help her end her pregnancy, citing moral objections, even though her fetus no longer had a heartbeat...Pharmacists have been known to refuse to give women this medication, as well as prescriptions for over-the-counter emergency contraception pills, because of their anti-abortion beliefs...

A grand jury has indicted CEO Elizabeth Holmes and...Sunny Balwani for alleged fraud at Theranos, the disgraced Silicon Valley company that once promised to revolutionize blood testing in a pitch that was too good to be true...The criminal charges filed by federal prosecutors allege that Holmes and Balwani bilked investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars while also defrauding doctors and patients through years of lies that put thousands of people in personal danger...(they) are charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud in the indictment, which was handed down on Thursday and unsealed on Friday. They now each face a maximum of 20 years in prison and up to $2.7 million in fines, a figure that doesn’t include any cash the government might demand as restitution for the alleged fraud...Holmes and Balwani lied brazenly about their technology’s capabilities — even though they knew it was inaccurate, unreliable, slow, and limited in terms of the tests it could perform...They marketed their blood test sold in Walgreens stores to consumers in Arizona and California, the indictment says, even though they knew it could not consistently report accurate levels of calcium, chloride, and potassium, among other medical tests. They told investors that they were using their own proprietary machines to test patients’ blood, when in fact they were using commercially available analyzers they’d purchased...

Walgreens and the Dept. of Veterans Affairs are working together to improve coordination of care for VA-enrolled patients. Through the partnership...VA providers will be able to see the entire medication and immunization history of the VA-enrolled patient if they receive prescriptions and immunizations at Walgreens...“This arrangement is the first of its kind, and it’s a strong collaboration,” said VA Sec. Robert Wilkie. “Partnerships like this will help VA continue to improve the way we care for Veterans.”...The VA-Walgreens exchange eliminates the need for providers to gather medication history from patients who fill their scripts at Walgreens...

Rite Aid executives issued an unusually lengthy plea for shareholders to vote in favor of its merger with Albertsons amid opposition by some investors who’ve been trying to derail the deal...Before shareholders is a $24 billion merger with grocery store giant Albertsons announced in February that would result in Rite Aid shareholders owning about 30% of the combined new company. The combination of Rite Aid, which operates RediClinic, and Albertsons would create a company with 319 health clinics and 4,345 pharmacies after the merger closes...Some investors were upset that senior executives will be paid retention bonuses even if the deal falls through. Others were upset that Rite Aid isn’t getting a higher price, especially as pharmacy benefit managers are suddenly an acquisition target and shareholders see value in Rite Aid’s PBM, EnvisionRxOptions, which has been growing rapidly...

A more difficult question is raised if a pharmacist refuses to fill based upon his or her religious beliefs...a University of Wisconsin student requested a refill on her birth control prescription at her local pharmacy. The pharmacist on duty, Neil Noesen, RPh, refused to fill it, citing his religious beliefs. He also would not transfer the prescription or tell her where she could get it filled...The student filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Board of Pharmacy.The board’s administrative law judge restricted Noesen’s license, finding that a pharmacist with a conscientious objection to dispensing a prescription must ensure there is an alternative mechanism for the patient to receive the medication, including informing the patient of their options to obtain their prescription.”...The Court on appeal ruled, “Noesen had a right to refuse to provide birth control pills but not to refuse to transfer a valid prescription to another pharmacy.”...The Trump administration is making it easier for medical providers to object to procedures on religious grounds...an HHS proposed rule...would allow HHS to enforce protections for religious medical providers...Pharmacists must be familiar with their state regulations and new federal guidelines...

Albertsons and Rite Aid on Wednesday evening announced that they had mutually decided to terminate the proposed merger...The termination came a day before Rite Aid was set to hold a special shareholders meeting at which the company has been urging its shareholders to vote in favor of the merger...“Albertsons believes that the strategic rationale of the Rite Aid combination was compelling, including the $375 million of cost synergies and $3.6 billion of identified revenue opportunities,” Albertsons said. “We disagree with the conclusion of certain Rite Aid stockholders and third-party advisory firms that although they acknowledged the strategic logic of the combination, did not believe that Albertsons was offering sufficient merger consideration to Rite Aid stockholders.”...Rite Aid chairman and CEO John Standley said that despite believing in the merits of the merger, it had listened to its stockholders and has committed to moving forward as a standalone company...

The relentless rise in prescription drug prices is prompting pharmacists to become more proactive in helping patients save money. Community pharmacists have had a front row seat for the tsunami of prescription price hikes that has been building for decades...What has really caused it to bubble up above the surface are the high deductible plans, and also the changes in insurance plan designs [that] are shifting more of the cost burden to consumers…

• Customer Relations Take a Hit
  Naturally, pharmacies are bearing the brunt of patient frustrations...J.D. Power 2017 U.S. Pharmacy Study reports “notable declines” in overall customer satisfaction that are driven by cost...
• One National Chain Reacts
  CVS Pharmacy Rx Savings Finder to help patients save money...tools to patients, prescribers, and pharmacists so they can evaluate prescription drug coverage in real-time and identify lower-cost alternatives...the right drug at the lowest possible cost for patients to ensure they are able to access and stay on the medications they need...
• Business Implications
  ...escalating prescription prices are also causing revenue problems for pharmacies...Zero reimbursements for many generics is common...retroactive DIR fees undermine patients’ access to prescriptions and hinder their own ability to manage their businesses.
• Revenue Boosting Options
  exploring alternative revenue streams—including chronic care management—and efficiency improvements...
• Alternative Revenue Streams
  expanding over-the-counter medications and products...offering immunizations, diabetes and cardiovascular education, smoking cessation, and nutrition classes...

If you need to get rid of old or expired medication, there are now 11 local Walgreens where you can get the chore done...The company opened its 1,000th medication disposal kiosk in the nation...4905 W. Tropicana Ave. in Las Vegas. The steel-box kiosks in Walgreens pharmacies are open during store hours for people to drop off unused pills for free, ensuring that the active ingredients don’t get into Nevada’s landfills or sewage systems...Gov. Brian Sandoval, who was on hand for the kiosk unveiling, said the disposal boxes also will help curb Nevada’s opioid crisis by keeping the drug out of the wrong hands...There are 12 kiosks located in Nevada: one in Henderson, nine in Las Vegas, one in North Las Vegas and one in Reno...Richard Ashworth, Walgreens president of operations, said the kiosks across the U.S. have already collected more than 270 tons of medications since the program began in 2016. The company plans to open 500 more kiosks...