Medco Health Solutions

Medco Health Solutions has agreed to pay $2.75 million and change its internal procedures to settle claims that it paid millions in bribes to win a contract to provide prescription drugs to members of the California Public Employees' Retirement System. The settlement was the latest development in a case that began in 2004 and involved allegations of dealings between the then-head of CalPERS, Federico Buenrostro Jr., and a paid Medco consultant and former CalPERS board member, Alfred J.R. Villalobos, who helped secure the $26-million contract in 2006.

After seven painful months of separation, Walgreen Co. and one of its largest customers, Express Scripts Holding Co., are back together. The companies said Thursday that they reached a new multi-year pharmacy network agreement that will allow customers of Express Scripts to once again fill their prescriptions at Walgreens stores. The agreement goes into effect Sept. 15. Terms were not disclosed. Shares of Walgreen jumped $3.65, or 11.8%, to $34.61 on Thursday, while Express Scripts shares rose $1.11, or 1.9%, to $58.80.

Express Scripts Inc. on Monday completed its acquisition of rival Medco Health Solutions Inc. in a $29.1-billion deal that could have major implications for Walgreen Co. The deal was announced after the Federal Trade Commission gave its formal approval after an eight-month antitrust investigation of whether the merger would hurt competition in the pharmacy benefits management sector. Pharmacy benefits management companies administer prescription-drug insurance coverage for employers and insurers.

Express Scripts Inc. on Monday completed its acquisition of rival Medco Health Solutions Inc. in a $29.1-billion deal that could have major implications for Walgreen Co. The deal was announced after the Federal Trade Commission gave its formal approval after an eight-month antitrust investigation of whether the merger would hurt competition in the pharmacy benefits management sector. Pharmacy benefits management companies administer prescription-drug insurance coverage for employers and insurers.

Federal prosecutors accused the nation's biggest pharmacy benefit management company of defrauding clients by destroying prescriptions, switching patients' medications without their consent and giving favorable treatment to drug companies that paid hefty rebates. A lawsuit filed in Philadelphia accuses Medco Health Solutions Inc.

Federal prosecutors have joined lawsuits accusing a pharmacy benefit company owned by Merck & Co. of pressuring doctors to switch patients to Merck's products even if a patient was doing well on another drug that cost less. U.S. Atty.

Medco Health Solutions Inc. defended itself against a new charge that it had paid kickbacks to win a contract to provide pharmacy services to Medicare beneficiaries and federal employees. The company said its contracts with Oxford Health Plans Inc. were legal and proper, despite a new Justice Department allegation Tuesday that Medco made $87.4 million in improper payments to win business. Medco acts as a middleman between drug makers and insurers trying to lower the costs of prescription drugs.

Medco Health Solutions Inc., the biggest manager of employee prescription drug benefits, agreed to pay $155 million to settle U.S. allegations that it accepted kickbacks from drug makers and submitted false claims to the government. The settlement resolves two civil cases and an investigation by the U.S. attorney's office in Philadelphia, the Justice Department said Monday. The government also accused the company of paying kickbacks to health plans to obtain business.

Question: As a shareholder in Medco Health Solutions Inc., I'm disappointed in its stock and wonder if things are going to get any better. Answer: Being a profitable industry leader doesn't make a healthcare company immune from competitive pressures. The nation's biggest stand-alone pharmacy benefit manager, providing drug benefits to about one-fifth of the U.S. population, is receiving a boost from the large number of patent expirations now taking place. This helps it lower prescription costs by encouraging its members to switch to less expensive drugs such as generics.

With a string of corporate accounting scandals sapping demand for new stocks, drug maker Merck & Co. (MRK) on Friday lowered the price range for the initial public offering of its Medco Health Solutions unit to $20 to $22 apiece from $22 to $24. The new range for the 46.7 million shares was officially disclosed for the first time in an amended filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, although sources close to the deal preempted the revision last month.

Medco Health Solutions has agreed to pay $2.75 million and change its internal procedures to settle claims that it paid millions in bribes to win a contract to provide prescription drugs to members of the California Public Employees' Retirement System. The settlement was the latest development in a case that began in 2004 and involved allegations of dealings between the then-head of CalPERS, Federico Buenrostro Jr., and a paid Medco consultant and former CalPERS board member, Alfred J.R. Villalobos, who helped secure the $26-million contract in 2006.

Medications to treat mental health disorders is soaring among U.S. adults, according to data released Wednesday by Medco Health Solutions, a pharmacy benefit manager. Twenty percent of all adults said they took at least one medication to treat a mental disorder. Among women, 25% said they took such medication and 20% said they were using an antidepressant. The survey analyzed prescription drug trends among 2.5 million insured Americans from 2001 to 2010. Medco researchers also found that adults ages 20 to 44 had the greatest uptick in use of anti-anxiety medications, atypical antipsychotics and drugs to treat ADHD.

Drug benefits manager Medco Health Solutions Inc. said U.S. securities regulators have issued a subpoena to the company for information about its payments of $4 million to a consultant as it sought to win a multimillion-dollar contract with the California Public Employees' Retirement System. The Securities and Exchange Commission also asked Medco, which manages pharmaceutical benefits for CalPERS members, for information about other "certain current and former affiliates of both the consultant and CalPERS," the company said Friday in a filing with the agency.

State and federal authorities are investigating possible wrongdoing in connection with the California Public Employees' Retirement System's award of a contract to provide prescription drugs to its members, according to records and interviews. That contract was first awarded in 2006 to Medco Health Solutions Inc., the nation's biggest pharmaceutical benefits manager with $66 billion in annual sales, to administer benefits for state government workers, retirees and their families.

Question: As a shareholder in Medco Health Solutions Inc., I'm disappointed in its stock and wonder if things are going to get any better. Answer: Being a profitable industry leader doesn't make a healthcare company immune from competitive pressures. The nation's biggest stand-alone pharmacy benefit manager, providing drug benefits to about one-fifth of the U.S. population, is receiving a boost from the large number of patent expirations now taking place. This helps it lower prescription costs by encouraging its members to switch to less expensive drugs such as generics.

Medco Health Solutions Inc., the biggest manager of employee prescription drug benefits, agreed to pay $155 million to settle U.S. allegations that it accepted kickbacks from drug makers and submitted false claims to the government. The settlement resolves two civil cases and an investigation by the U.S. attorney's office in Philadelphia, the Justice Department said Monday. The government also accused the company of paying kickbacks to health plans to obtain business.

Drug giant Merck & Co. said the planned spinoff of its Medco Health Solutions Inc. subsidiary to shareholders should happen this summer. Merck, which said in April that it would jettison Medco, on Wednesday filed details of the deal with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The transaction is expected to be tax-free to Merck holders. Medco is a pharmacy benefits management firm that develops prescription benefit programs for employers and runs a mail-order and online pharmacy.

After seven painful months of separation, Walgreen Co. and one of its largest customers, Express Scripts Holding Co., are back together. The companies said Thursday that they reached a new multi-year pharmacy network agreement that will allow customers of Express Scripts to once again fill their prescriptions at Walgreens stores. The agreement goes into effect Sept. 15. Terms were not disclosed. Shares of Walgreen jumped $3.65, or 11.8%, to $34.61 on Thursday, while Express Scripts shares rose $1.11, or 1.9%, to $58.80.

Medco Health Solutions Inc., one of the nation's biggest pharmacy benefits managers, said Wednesday that it would buy Accredo Health Inc., a distributor of specialty drugs and services, in a $2.2-billion cash and stock deal to create the nation's largest specialty pharmacy business. The companies expect to generate more than $4 billion in annual revenue from their combined specialty drug businesses.

In a case that could alter how prescriptions are filled, the nation's largest pharmacy benefits manager said Monday that it would pay $29 million to settle allegations by 20 states, including California, that it pressured doctors to switch patients' medications to benefit its bottom line. Medco Health Solutions Inc.