Walgreen Co. (WAG) will offer prescription drugs directly to
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) for its workers and retirees, saying its
program will increase savings and pricing transparency.
It will also give Caterpillar workers discounts on non-drug
products while the two companies also look at potential expansion
of the effort to include health-and-wellness efforts. Walgreen also
manages workplace health-and-wellness centers.
The deal comes at a time of heightened uncertainty over the
future of health care in the U.S. President Barack Obama's massive
reform initiative has been mired in Washington amid outcry over the
costs and confustion about what the bill will entail.
The drug-pricing practice is similar to that which Caterpillar
is using under a pilot program with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT).
That pact, which is unaffected by the Caterpillar deal, remains in
effect through year's end, said Caterpillar spokesman Bridget
Young.
Caterpillar's pharmacy benefits manager, Todd Bisping, praised
Walgreen for helping to eliminate "unnecessary and hidden costs in
the prescription drug supply chain and ... effectively deliver
lower cost solutions."
-By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291;
joan.solsman@dowjones.com