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Article: Express Scripts buys PBM from WellPoint.
- Article from:
- Business Insurance
- Article date:
- April 20, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Crain Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: JOANNE WOJCIK
Express Scripts Inc.'s purchase of WellPoint Inc.'s NextRx could further fuel competition in the pharmacy benefit management market, benefit experts and market analysts say.
Last week's acquisition will make the St. Louis-based PBM the nation's largest, giving it more clout in its ongoing competition with rivals CVS Caremark Corp., the current No. 1, and Medco Health Solutions Inc., currently the nation's second-largest PBM, based on covered lives.
At the same time, consolidation at the top of the market should spur smaller and midsize PBMs to develop new business models to differentiate themselves.
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