Orange County Supervisors Reject Caremark Drug Contract
The Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to reject a $14 million contract to administer county employees' prescription drug benefits with Tennessee-based Caremark and instead will contract with Walgreen, the Orange County Register reports.
Supervisors cited recent lawsuits and concerns about nondisclosure of pricing agreements with drug makers as reasons for rejecting the Caremark contract and said that Walgreen could save the county millions of dollars through the use of generic drugs.
Supervisors instructed staff to negotiate a one-year contract with Walgreen with an option of two one-year extensions.
A Caremark official said the company had saved Orange County millions of dollars in recent years, adding that the company had complied with county rules to develop its proposal (Santana, Orange County Register, 8/24).