Health insurance exchanges get off to rocky start
NEW YORK — The much-anticipated debut of the enrollment period for health insurance exchanges saw millions of Americans overwhelm the websites set up to let them get coverage.
Issue 10-14-2013
Pharmacies are helping patients cope with ACA
The kickoff of the Affordable Care Act’s open enrollment period has kept community pharmacy chains busy. Large retailers such as Walmart, CVS Caremark Corp., Walgreen Co. and Rite Aid Corp.
Washington gridlock casts shadow
The economy faced a greater threat from hitting the debt ceiling than from a government shutdown, experts said this month. Unless the federal borrowing limit was raised by October 17, the country faced a default on its loans and an ensuing global crisis.
Industry groups back Rx legislation
Community pharmacy advocates have thrown their support behind a congressional plan to reform the nation’s pharmaceutical supply chain and impose tighter regulations on pharmacy compounding.
Walgreens posts solid quarter across business
Fourth quarter net income surged more than 85% at Walgreen Co. as the company rebounded strongly from a year-ago quarter that was severely impacted by weak sales, costs related to its purchase of a stake in Alliance Boots GmbH and a big LIFO charge.
Rite Aid on track with ‘wellness’ remodels
Rite Aid Corp. aims to have about a quarter of its store base converted to its “wellness store” format by the close of its current fiscal year next March. The drug chain reached a milestone during its fiscal 2014 second quarter by opening its 1,000th wellness store remodel, company executives said
Loblaws taps exec to oversee SDM integration
Mark Butler has been named Loblaw Cos.’ executive vice president of integration with responsibility for planning the supermarketer’s assimilation of Shoppers Drug Mart (SDM). A 37-year Loblaws veteran, Butler was most recently executive vice president of the conventional division.
DeParle joins the board at CVS
CVS Caremark Corp. has named Nancy-Ann DeParle, a former top aide to President Barack Obama on the health care overhaul, to its board of directors. DeParle, 56, will be an independent director serving on the board’s audit committee.
Bartell adds new twist to latest drug store
Bartell Drugs is opening one of its largest stores ever in the Puget Sound area. The store, a 16,085-square-foot unit in the city’s Greenwood section, opened for business on October 13 and offers a broader merchandise mix than most other Bartell Drug outlets.
Industry won’t be same without Civello
The announcement last month that Walgreens had agreed to acquire Kerr Drug, the 76-store, Raleigh, N.C.-based drug chain, disrupted chain drug retailing as few previous acquisitions had done. It wasn’t the size of the deal that caused such a stir.
Studies dissect pharmacy customer satisfaction
New research that examines customer satisfaction with pharmacy operators contains some revealing insights. The studies, conducted separately by J.D. Power and Market Force Information, identify favorites among consumers and point to broader industrywide trends.