NEW ORLEANS & BATON ROUGE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Coventry Health Care of Louisiana and Walgreens have launched a novel awareness campaign to educate employers in the metro New Orleans and greater Baton Rouge areas on how they can ensure access to convenient pharmacy services for their employees. The campaign includes print and radio advertisements and outreach to employers whose current health plans will not include Walgreens’ more than 7,700 community drugstores nationwide in their 2012 pharmacy networks.
Coventry Health Care of Louisiana is pleased to offer employer groups and all other customers continued access to Walgreens’ pharmacy network in 2012, including all 24-hour pharmacy locations and drive-thru locations. Depending on their choice of health plan, many metro New Orleans and Baton Rouge employers and their employees will lose Walgreens pharmacies in their pharmacy network beginning Jan. 1, 2012. As a result, the campaign is designed to let local employers know that customers who choose Coventry will have Walgreens in their pharmacy network.
“Coventry knows that metro New Orleans and greater Baton Rouge employers want their employees to have convenient access to the pharmacy of their choice. Walgreens offers among the most convenient pharmacy locations in these areas,” said John R. (J) Pegues, chief executive officer of Coventry Health Care of Louisiana. “Coventry recognizes the importance of including Walgreens in our pharmacy network, and we want New Orleans and Baton Rouge employers and consumers to know they have a choice with Coventry.”
Kermit Crawford, Walgreens president of pharmacy, health and wellness said, “Walgreens and Coventry Health Care of Louisiana have a strong relationship that makes pharmacy services convenient and accessible for patients and customers in the greater New Orleans and Baton Rouge communities. This relationship gives employers the opportunity to best serve their employees with comprehensive network access to the pharmacy providers who can help patients stay healthy.”
Employers who offer health plans with pharmacy networks in 2012 that do not include Walgreens may have employees who face disruptions in pharmacy care. Such employee disruptions will occur because prescriptions filled at Walgreens in 2012 will not be covered under their plan’s in-network benefit. As a result, employees will have to transfer prescriptions to another pharmacy that may be less convenient than Walgreens or pay for the entire cost of the prescription upfront. In some cases, employers without Walgreens in their pharmacy network could end up paying higher overall medical costs. However, employers who offer a health plan with pharmacy benefits from Coventry Health Care of Louisiana will avoid employee pharmacy disruptions, as all Coventry plans include Walgreens in their pharmacy network.
About Coventry Health Care of Louisiana
Coventry Health Care of Louisiana, Inc. provides health insurance products and services, including HMO, Point-of-Service, and PPO plans to employers and individuals across the state of Louisiana. Coventry Health Care of Louisiana is URAC health plan accredited. Coventry Health Care of Louisiana is a subsidiary of Coventry Health Care, Inc., one of the country’s largest health care companies providing a full range of risk and fee-based health care products and services in all 50 states. For more information, visit Coventry Health Care of Louisiana’s website at www.chcla.com.
About Walgreen Co.
Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) is the nation's largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2011 sales of $72 billion. The company operates 7,760 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Each day, Walgreens provides nearly 6 million customers the most convenient, multichannel access to consumer goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and advice in communities across America. Walgreens scope of pharmacy services includes retail, specialty, infusion, medical facility and mail service, along with respiratory services. These services improve health outcomes and lower costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. Take Care Health Systems is a Walgreens subsidiary that is the largest and most comprehensive manager of worksite health and wellness centers and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 700 locations throughout the country.