Latest Senate health plan a winner for hospitals
Posted on October 6, 2009 at 1:40 pmThe nation’s hospital companies – a large number of whom call Middle Tennessee home – are set to come out ahead if the latest version of the Senate’s plan to reform health insurance becomes law. That’s in large part because a previous deal in which hospitals pledged to produce $155 billion in savings by 2019 still stands. In terms of sheer dollars, local players HCA and Community Health Systems would benefit most.
On the flip side, pharmacy benefit managers such as Caremark don’t have much to like from this new version: They’ll be required to disclose the incentives drug makers are paying them.
CVS Caremark is just so misunderstood
Posted on September 1, 2009 at 9:03 amA week after Barron’s stated the case for the shares of CVS Caremark (Ticker: CVS), Fortune weighs in on the topic. Even though the stock has beaten the S&P by 16 points this year, it trails its peers.
The market questions whether a drugstore chain, which has expertise in retail sales, can run a PBM, which negotiates on behalf of employers and insurance plans to purchase drugs from pharmaceutical companies. As a result, CVS’s price/earnings ratio for the next 12 months is 13, while Walgreen’s is 15 and Medco’s is 20. That makes CVS, which is poised for strong growth, a bargain - no matter how the health-reform battle plays out.
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Caremark powers CVS earnings lift
Posted on August 4, 2009 at 7:23 amAnother strong quarter from its pharmacy benefit management division — revenues were up 15 percent from a year ago — has led CVS Caremark to again raise its earnings guidance. Shares of the company (Ticker: CVS) are up more than 4 percent in pre-market trading.
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Group targeting CVS Caremark ‘optimistic’
Posted on May 13, 2009 at 5:16 pmA group of independent pharmacists says it is “cautiously optimistic” following a meeting with the Federal Trade Commission.
The National Community Pharmacists Association has for months been pressuring the commission to investigate CVS Caremark over claims that the company engages in anticompetitive practices. The group also seeks to reopen the 2007 merger that formed the joint company.
Further details here.
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Costs cut CVS Caremark earnings
Posted on May 5, 2009 at 11:03 amIntegration costs and other factors caused CVS Caremark Corp.’s first quarter earnings to fall slightly compared to last year.
The company’s earnings dipped to $743.5 million, down from $748.5 million in ‘08. Net Revenue, on the other hand, increased to $23.4 billion, up from $21.3 billion last year.
Earnings release available here.
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Caremark competitor bulks up
Posted on April 13, 2009 at 6:45 amExpress Scripts, which two years ago wanted to buy Nashville-based Caremark, has signed a $4.7 billion deal to buy the pharmacy benefits management division of insurer WellPoint. In terms of the number of prescriptions managed, the purchase will vault Express over Caremark into the No. 2 spot.
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One in six MinuteClinics to close for ’seasonal’ reasons
Posted on March 10, 2009 at 7:33 amAnytime you’re being compared to the dot-com bubble, things can’t be that good. The Wall Street Journal updates us on what appears to be a re-examination of the retail health care market.
“For those in the industry, the nagging problem is what to do with the extra capacity we have in the off season, and unless that problem gets solved this industry will continue to have a major structural weakness,” Tom Charland, a consultant and chief executive of Merchant Medicine, told Dow Jones.
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A growth opportunity for Caremark
Posted on March 6, 2009 at 6:52 pmThe Financial Times says WellPoint is putting its pharmacy benefit management unit on the block. CVS Caremark, which runs its PBM business out of Nashville, is likely to be one of the main bidders.
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You mean that wasn’t our money?
Posted on at 1:39 pmCVS/Caremark has come under fire from the State of Maryland over alleged overpayments and undisclosed rebates.
CVS Caremark, the State of Maryland’s former pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), collected more than $10 million in potential overpayments and undisclosed rebates, among other deficiencies, according to the State Department of Legislative Services which recently audited the Department of Budget and Management Office of Personnel Services and Benefits (OPSB) for the years 2004 – 2007. Catalyst replaced CVS Caremark in 2007 as Maryland’s PBM.
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CVS Caremark profits hit the mark
Posted on February 19, 2009 at 8:32 amCVS Caremark (Ticker: CVS) posted fourth-quarter earnings of $949 million, up from $811 million a year ago. Helped by an acquisition, the company’s pharmacy services business, which houses the former Caremark, posted flat revenues and operating earnings.
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CVS Caremark cranks it up
Posted on January 13, 2009 at 10:04 pmFlaunting its cash flow – almost $3 billion from operations in 2008 – the pharmacy/PBM combo increases its dividend by more than 10 percent, bumping the stock’s yield (Ticker: CVS) above 1 percent.
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Another not-so-recession-proof sign
Posted on January 9, 2009 at 8:19 amThe CEO of CVS Caremark (Ticker: CVS) says fewer people are visiting their doctors and provides 2009 guidance well below expectations.
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