Express Scripts Inc. to buy WellPoint units for $4.68B
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Express Scripts Inc. stands to gain considerable negotiating clout from its $4.68 billion deal to buy the pharmacy-benefits management businesses of health insurer WellPoint Inc., and experts say that could mean savings for customers buying prescription drugs.
St. Louis-based Express Scripts said Monday it planned to buy WellPoint’s NextRx subsidiaries in a cash-and-stock deal. Express Scripts is the third-largest pharmacy benefits manager, and the deal likely would vault it past No. 2 CVS Caremark and push it close to the top stand-alone company, Medco Health Solutions Inc., based on prescriptions managed.
The increased bargaining power that comes from that size should translate into better pricing for existing employer customers and more aggressive pricing for prospective new ones, said David Dross, a principal with the human resources consulting firm Mercer.
That could help employees by lowering co-payments for drugs or softening increases in the contributions they have to make to their health plans. But Dross said that depends on how or if the employer passes along any savings.
Pharmacy-benefits managers pay prescription drug claims through large networks of chain pharmacies and independent drugstores. They also manage mail-order businesses that ship drugs directly to patients, a practice that is becoming popular for people who need steady medications to deal with chronic conditions.
Shares of both Express Scripts and WellPoint climbed steeply Monday after the deal was announced.