WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Members of the U.S. military's TRICARE pharmacy program will no longer be able to get medications from the drug chain Walgreens, officials said.
In a statement, Walgreens said its contract renewal negotiations with pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts Inc. had been unsuccessful and, as a result, Walgreens is no longer a part of Express Scripts' pharmacy network.
The contract between Express Scripts and the Walgreens pharmacy chain expired Dec. 31, and as a result Walgreens will no longer be a TRICARE pharmacy network provider.
"Most beneficiaries will have access to another network pharmacy very close to home as the contract with Express Scripts requires high access standards," TRICARE said in a statement. "There are still 56,000 network pharmacies nationwide -- easily meeting or exceeding access requirements. In addition to other network pharmacies, there are other options, including access to military pharmacies at no cost and convenient, low-cost TRICARE Pharmacy Home Delivery."
The least expensive option after the no-cost military pharmacies located on military installations worldwide is TRICARE Pharmacy Home Delivery, which mails prescriptions directly to the patient, TRICARE officials said.
