Walgreens And Express Script – does this affect you?

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

I’m not sure if you are familiar with Express Scripts, but I have some important information for you, and I hope that it will help if you use Walgreen’s pharmacy to fill your prescriptions.  Express Scripts is a middleman between pharmacies and employers and health plans who pay for the medications. The contract between Walgreens and Express Script expired on December 31st, which means that Walgreen’s is no longer part of their network.

Employers like having Walgreen’s as a choice for their health insurance plan, so their employees can choose from several neighborhood pharmacies (Walgreen’s is a very popular one).  I personally use Walgreen’s for all of my prescriptions and I would be devastated if that choice was taken away, and Walgreen’s is not happy about what this does to the customers who are affected.  During contract talks, they even tried to stay on the program without raising rates, but to no avail.

Who is affected?  All Walgreens pharmacies nationwide and Duane Reade pharmacies in the New York City area.  This doesn’t affect everyone, but those with certain prescription insurance plans that are managed by Express Scripts. To find out if this will impact you, it is recommended that you check with Walgreen’s.  You can also find out if you might be affected by looking on the back of your health insurance card  – if it has Express Scripts’ name there, then you might be affected. If it doesn’t say Express Scripts, then you are not affected.

In light of these circumstances, Walgreen’s wants to help  pharmacy customers, and they are currently offering a discount on annual memberships for their Prescription Savings Club. You can join Walgreens Express Script during a special January promotion for only $5, or $10 for a family membership. Normally the annual membership cost for the Prescription Savings Club is $20 for an individual and $35 for a family. Walgreens Prescription Savings Club can save quite a bit of money, and I, for one, am happy they are trying to help their customers.  When you join, you will receive savings on more than 8,000 brand name and even generic medications. There are over 400 generics available with a three-month supply for less than $1 a week. This plan also covers flu shots,nebulizers, pet medications and diabetic supplies.  There are bonuses when you purchase Walgreen’s brand ed products and photo finishing services.

Make sure you follow Walgreens on Twitter and Walgreens on Facebook to keep up-to-date with the latest information.