Posts Tagged ‘CVS’
BlueCross offering on-site health care for employees
The 4,000 BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee workers moving to the company’s new Cameron Hill headquarters in January no longer will have to take time off work to pick up a prescription or get a sinus infection checked out.
The state’s largest health insurer is including an on-site pharmacy and a health clinic, staffed by nurse practitioners, in its new development in downtown Chattanooga, part of a $299 million construction project.
“Since the earliest days of our plans to move to Cameron Hill, we had dreams of having some on-site medical facilities,” said Ron Harr, senior vice president of human resources and public affairs. “We just knew how important and convenient that would be to our employees to help them improve their state of health.”
Workers Get Health Care at the Office
Even as employers push a greater share of rising medical costs on to workers, a growing number of companies also are providing services like free check-ups, screening exams and prescription drugs that potentially can save employees hundreds of dollars a year.
Companies say the programs also will save them money in the long run. Although a few employers have long offered on-site clinics, the trend is gathering steam as more companies expect to reduce their overall health-care spending by focusing more attention on preventing illness, including complications from such conditions as hypertension and diabetes. Companies also expect employees will be more productive if they don’t have to leave the workplace to seek medical treatment.
Medical care made quick for workers downtown
Several large employers in downtown Akron are hoping they’ve found a cure for at least some cases of absenteeism and rising health costs for their workers.
On Oct. 6, CVS Caremark is opening a MinuteClinic walk-in medical practice and a retail pharmacy inside the FirstMerit Tower building on South Main Street.
The MinuteClinic and CarePlus CVS Pharmacy will be open to the public but will cater to workers at Akron-based employers who belong to a group called Employers Health Purchasing Corp. of Ohio (EHPCO).
Many of the business coalition’s members–including at least five employers headquartered in downtown Akron–use CVS Caremark to manage pharmacy benefits for their employees.
Walgreen Continues March Into Health-Care Delivery
Walgreen may be on its way to your office. The drug store chain is buying its way into the business of providing on-site health care for employers.
Walgreen execs said yesterday that the company’s buying a shop called I-trax for about $260 million and another company called Whole Health Management for an undisclosed amount, the WSJ reports.
Like its archrival CVS, Walgreen is no longer content with its retail business selling prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs and a random assortment of groceries and novelty items. Walgreen and CVS have both been busy opening retail clinics to provide health care in their stores. And last year, CVS merged with the giant pharmacy benefits manager to get into the business of managing companies’ prescription drug benefits.
-->