Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Rite Aid Spends $2B To Acquire Pharmacy Benefits Manager
The Associated Press: Rite Aid Spends $2B On Push Into Pharmacy Benefit Management
Rite Aid's $2 billion acquisition of a pharmacy benefits manager steers the drugstore chain toward a potentially lucrative focus for health care companies: Finding ways to tame customer costs. The nation's third-largest drugstore chain is buying EnvisionRx which, like all pharmacy benefit managers, can exercise considerable influence over how much patients pay for their medications. (Murphy, 2/11)
The Wall Street Journal: WellCare Earnings Drop On Severe Flu Season
WellCare Health Plans Inc. on Wednesday posted a downbeat full-year earnings guidance, after an unexpectedly severe flu season dragged on profit, leading earnings to drop 82% in the December quarter. The company now expects full-year earnings between $3.15 and $3.40 a share, below analyst estimates of $3.59 a share. (Chen, 2/11)
