This week, we are reading updates on Ash Brokerage’s acquisition of Zenith Marketing Group, a poll from Kaiser Health News on Americans concerns over drug costs, and details on the partnership between BCBS Institute, Walgreens, CVS and Lyft to help provide transportation to drugstores.
Ash Brokerage to Acquire Zenith Marketing Group | InsuranceNewsNet | March 19, 2018
Ash Brokerage, the largest privately held insurance brokerage in the United States, continues to grow with the acquisition of Zenith Marketing Group, the companies announced today.
Leaders say the deal comes as a result of a long-standing relationship between the two firms, and they are excited for the opportunities ahead for both companies.
Read the full release on insurancenewsnet.com here.
Poll: Americans Aghast Over Drug Costs But Aren’t Holding Their Breath For A Fix | Kaiser Health News | March 23, 2018
A poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 72 percent of people think the drug industry has too much influence in Washington —outweighing the 69 percent who feel that way about Wall Street or the 52 percent who think the NRA has too much power. Only the large-business community outranked drugmakers. (Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent program of the foundation.)
Drug prices are among the few areas of health policy where Americans seem to find consensus. Eighty percent of people said they think drug prices are too high, and both Democrats (65 percent) and Republicans (74 percent) agreed the industry has too much sway over lawmakers.
Read the article on khn.org here.
Blue Cross, Lyft, Walgreens and CVS partner to help patients get their scripts | CNBC | March 14, 2018
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association wants to help people pick up their prescriptions.
The insurance group’s new subsidiary, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Institute, is partnering with Lyft, Walgreens and CVS to offer rides to drugstores. The move comes nearly a year after the BCBS association announced it started working with Lyft.
The BCBS Institute will test the pharmacy rides at select Walgreens locations in Chicago and select CVS locations in Pittsburgh. Patients in both cities will also be able to get rides to their primary care physicians. BCBS insurance companies will pay for rides to doctors, and the retailers will pay for rides to and from pharmacies.