The nation’s largest drugstore chains
are jumping at the chance to teach people about the
Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) -- and
to reap potentially huge profits -- as enrollment in
health insurance plans looms for millions of uninsured
Americans.
Rite Aid announced earlier this month that it will station
independent, licensed insurance agents in nearly 2,000
of its 4,600 stores to help uninsured customers sign up
for a health insurance plan. The agents and Rite Aid will
receive a commission from insurance companies, says
Rite Aid spokeswoman Ashley Flower.
Starting Oct. 1, the agents will work one-on-one with
customers to help them make insurance choices,
Flower says in a news release. They will be available
through March 31, 2014, when the initial 6-month
enrollment period ends.
On its web site, Walgreens is also offering customers a
chance to contact licensed insurance advisors to discuss
health insurance plans, including those sold through the
new state Marketplaces. The advisors are contracted by
GoHealth, an online portal for health insurance
coverage.
Walgreens also has partnered with Blue Cross Blue
Shield Association to offer brochures and other
information in its 8,000 stores. The alliance with BCBSA
is not intended to feed new customers into the Blue
Cross Blue Shield system, says Walgreens spokesman
Jim Cohn. He didn't comment on the availability of
licensed insurance advisors through the Walgreens web
site.
CVS is taking a lower-key approach. Like Rite Aid and
Walgreens, it is offering Affordable Care Act information
in its 7,500 stores and 650 MinuteClinics; it has
launched an informational web site as well. CVS also
plans to have health insurance experts answer customer
questions in various stores nationwide in October and
November.
Pharmacy Chains and Feds Team Up
Oct. 1 marks the beginning of a 6-month period when
some 7 million uninsured Americans are expected to
buy a health insurance plan. Pharmacies have emerged
as partners of the federal government in helping
customers cut through the confusion of the Affordable
Care Act.
Their efforts have been lauded by U.S. Health and
Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who has
accompanied company CEOs to launch the initiatives.
“Families look to their pharmacy for honest,
straightforward advice they can trust," she said during a
news conference at a New Jersey Rite Aid on Sept. 9.
“Americans trust their pharmacist.”
Indeed, a CVS Caremark survey found that 68% of
uninsured people (of more than 1,000 respondents)
say retail pharmacies will be a primary source of
information about health care reform.
Chris Krese, of the National Association of Chain Drug
Stores, says the motive of these companies isn’t to
capitalize on new health care benefits, but to fulfill their
“brand identity” as neighborhood pharmacies. In 2006,
when the Medicare drug benefit (Part D) went into
effect, pharmacies provided customers with materials
to help them understand the program, he points out.
“What you’re seeing is a very proactive and organized
effort to make sure questions can be addressed in very
efficient ways -- information, insurance agents -- it just
makes good sense,” he says.
are jumping at the chance to teach people about the
Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) -- and
to reap potentially huge profits -- as enrollment in
health insurance plans looms for millions of uninsured
Americans.
Rite Aid announced earlier this month that it will station
independent, licensed insurance agents in nearly 2,000
of its 4,600 stores to help uninsured customers sign up
for a health insurance plan. The agents and Rite Aid will
receive a commission from insurance companies, says
Rite Aid spokeswoman Ashley Flower.
Starting Oct. 1, the agents will work one-on-one with
customers to help them make insurance choices,
Flower says in a news release. They will be available
through March 31, 2014, when the initial 6-month
enrollment period ends.
On its web site, Walgreens is also offering customers a
chance to contact licensed insurance advisors to discuss
health insurance plans, including those sold through the
new state Marketplaces. The advisors are contracted by
GoHealth, an online portal for health insurance
coverage.
Walgreens also has partnered with Blue Cross Blue
Shield Association to offer brochures and other
information in its 8,000 stores. The alliance with BCBSA
is not intended to feed new customers into the Blue
Cross Blue Shield system, says Walgreens spokesman
Jim Cohn. He didn't comment on the availability of
licensed insurance advisors through the Walgreens web
site.
CVS is taking a lower-key approach. Like Rite Aid and
Walgreens, it is offering Affordable Care Act information
in its 7,500 stores and 650 MinuteClinics; it has
launched an informational web site as well. CVS also
plans to have health insurance experts answer customer
questions in various stores nationwide in October and
November.
Pharmacy Chains and Feds Team Up
Oct. 1 marks the beginning of a 6-month period when
some 7 million uninsured Americans are expected to
buy a health insurance plan. Pharmacies have emerged
as partners of the federal government in helping
customers cut through the confusion of the Affordable
Care Act.
Their efforts have been lauded by U.S. Health and
Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who has
accompanied company CEOs to launch the initiatives.
“Families look to their pharmacy for honest,
straightforward advice they can trust," she said during a
news conference at a New Jersey Rite Aid on Sept. 9.
“Americans trust their pharmacist.”
Indeed, a CVS Caremark survey found that 68% of
uninsured people (of more than 1,000 respondents)
say retail pharmacies will be a primary source of
information about health care reform.
Chris Krese, of the National Association of Chain Drug
Stores, says the motive of these companies isn’t to
capitalize on new health care benefits, but to fulfill their
“brand identity” as neighborhood pharmacies. In 2006,
when the Medicare drug benefit (Part D) went into
effect, pharmacies provided customers with materials
to help them understand the program, he points out.
“What you’re seeing is a very proactive and organized
effort to make sure questions can be addressed in very
efficient ways -- information, insurance agents -- it just
makes good sense,” he says.
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