NEW YORK (Reuters)—Cigna Corp on Thursday closed its $54-billion deal to buy Express Scripts Holding Co, creating one of the biggest providers of pharmacy benefits and insurance plans in the United States, a combination it says will help it improve healthcare coordination and cut costs. Cigna’s deal puts it in direct competition with two other…
Walmart, Home Depot Adopt Health Insurer Tactic in Drug Copay Battle
NEW YORK (Reuters)—Walmart and Home Depot, two of the top 10 U.S. employers, have embraced a health insurance strategy that punishes drugmakers for using discount cards to keep patients from switching or stopping their medications. Large U.S. companies have started tightly managing how employees and their family members use these popular discount, or copay, cards…
Health Insurer Cigna to Buy Express Scripts for about $54 Billion
(Reuters)— U.S. health insurer Cigna Corp said on Thursday it would buy pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts Holding Co for about $54 billion, a tie-up that reflects pressure on healthcare companies to grow bigger to cut costs. The move follows the $69-billion merger of insurer Aetna Inc and one of Express Scripts’ biggest rivals, CVS…