CVS halted it’s sales of tobacco products this year, which resulted in an estimated loss in annual revenue of 2 billion dollars.
Now it’s pharmacy benefits division may start charging a $15 co-payment for customers that fill prescriptions at pharmacies that sell tobacco products according to an article in the Washington Post.
The new plan plays into the company’s efforts to strike lucrative partnerships with health-care systems who value having healthier patients. The new co-pay strategy does two things. It encourages CVS customers to fill prescriptions at CVS-owned pharmacies to avoid possible co-pays. It also puts financial pressure on other pharmacies in the Caremark network to abandon tobacco sales if they haven’t already. More than 54,000 pharmacies are in Caremark networks, including more than 20,000 independent community pharmacies, according to CVS.After the company’s initial announcement that it would end tobacco sales, some of its pharmacy benefit management clients asked about developing a tobacco-free network, according to CVS spokeswoman Carolyn Castel.
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