Dive Brief:
- Kroger has signed a deal with Express Scripts under which it has resumed working with the pharmacy benefits manager to provide shoppers with prescription medications and health services, the grocer announced Wednesday.
- As part of the arrangement, Kroger’s pharmacies are again serving customers who are enrolled in Express Scripts’ Medicare Part D prescription plans and Tricare plans from the U.S. Department of Defense.
- Kroger’s decision to sign a new deal with Express Scripts could help the grocer boost its financial performance by giving it access to a revenue stream that contributed significantly to its bottom line in the past.
Dive Insight:
Kroger’s new arrangement with Express Scripts follows its decision in 2022 to end its previous affiliation with the pharmacy benefits manager.
The grocery chain said in September 2022 that it had notified Express Scripts that it intended to end the companies’ relationship after attempting to obtain “a more equitable and fair contract that lowers cost, increases access, and delivers greater transparency.” The retailer left Express Scripts’ pharmacy network on Jan. 1, 2023.
Kroger has pointed to its decision to end its previous arrangement with Express Scripts as a factor in depressing its results. The company said that its same-store sales for the second quarter of 2023 would have grown by 2.6% instead of 1% had it not parted ways with the pharmacy benefits manager. Similarly, the supermarket operator said it would have generated positive comps during the third quarter of 2023 if it had not terminated the contract.
Kroger did not specify why it decided to enter a new agreement with Express Scripts.
In addition to allowing the grocer’s pharmacies to again serve customers covered by Medicare and Tricare, the arrangement means that Express Scripts commercial and Medicaid clients will be able to add Kroger’s pharmacies to their networks, according to the announcement.
“At Kroger Health, we believe everyone should have access to comprehensive healthcare,” Colleen Lindholz, president of Kroger Health, said in a statement. “This agreement reaffirms our commitment to bringing high-quality services to more customers across the country.”
Kroger said in March 2024 that it had decided to sell its specialty pharmacy business to CarelonRx.
