San Francisco health plan switches pharmacy benefit manager to keep Walgreens in network

SAN FRANCISCO — As of January 2012, Chinese Community Health Plan will transition to a new pharmacy benefits management company, Navitus Health Solutions, from Express Scripts to provide its members with continued access to Walgreens pharmacies, the health plan subsidiary of Chinese Hospital in San Francisco announced Friday.

According to the health plan, the move was made to maintain access to those Walgreens pharmacies. "In San Francisco, Walgreens is a leading pharmacy provider and operates the only 24-hour pharmacies in the city," the company stated.

“Our concern is for the continuity of care for the residents we serve in this area," stated Larry Loo, director of business development and operations for CCHP. "Having access to medications in a timely fashion is an important part of their overall health care. Removing access from a neighborhood Walgreens to another drug store downtown or in a different part of [San Francisco] could generate scenarios in which seniors or other individuals cannot fully access the medicines they need.”

Interested in this topic? Sign up for our weekly Retail Health Provider e-newsletter.