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WellCare Health Plans, Inc. announced today that it has formed an alliance with Walgreens Health Initiatives, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Walgreen Co., for Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans (PDP). WellCare will make educational information available to Walgreens customers at pharmacy counters in each of Walgreens more than 4,950 retail locations nationwide. Those customers who enroll via this alliance will be issued a joint WellCare/Walgreens prescription drug card allowing prescriptions to be filled at participating pharmacies nationwide, including any Walgreens store.

“With its outstanding reputation for quality and its extensive network of retail stores, Walgreens is an excellent partner to help educate beneficiaries about the benefits of WellCare’s national PDP programs,” stated Todd S. Farha, President and Chief Executive Officer of WellCare Health Plans. “We are excited about the opportunity to extend prescription drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries nationwide, and we are confident that our alliance with Walgreens will contribute to the successful launch of the Medicare prescription drug program.”

“Partnering with WellCare will help us deliver accurate, timely information to our pharmacy patients,” said Don Huonker, Walgreens vice president of pharmacy services. “Not only will our Medicare-eligible patients receive information from a trusted source, but they will have ready access to comprehensive pharmacy benefits offered by WellCare’s PDP programs.”

In addition to honoring WellCare PDP cards at its pharmacies, Walgreens will also accept PDP cards from other PDP providers as well. Medicare beneficiaries who enroll in one of WellCare’s three national PDP programs may fill their prescriptions at more than 40,000 pharmacies nationwide, in addition to the more than 4,950 Walgreens locations.

I’m sure we’re going to see a lot more alliances like this pop up over the next few weeks.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 21st, 2005 at 3:06 pm and is filed under Medicare News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.