10/14/2022
Veterans who have risked their lives to fight for our country are about to lose a vital part of their access to healthcare.
Express Scripts (TRICARE) recently signed a contract that will restrict the pharmacy access of 9.6 million patients. By slashing reimbursements to below cost for formerly in-network pharmacies, Express Scripts has made it impossible for many community pharmacies as well as chain pharmacies to continue to participate in TRICARE.
The loss will go into effect as early as October 24th, 2022. This new contract will have many consequences, but the largest is that TRICARE patients and their families will lose choice over their pharmacy providers. Many of them will have ZERO local pharmacies that still participate in their insurance plan.
This will include loss of access to immunizations, medication management, in person counseling, and the pharmacies TRICARE patients trust and love.
Without access to neighborhood pharmacies, patients will struggle to get medication in a timely and safe manner. Many medications are not suitable for mail order pharmacies, and when delivered late will be unfit for patient consumption.
Over 90% of Americans live within 5 miles of a community pharmacy, and 76.5% of pharmacies serving rural American communities are independent community pharmacies. It is unethical for Express Scripts to take this option away from TRICARE families.
We urge all Americans to sign this petition asking the Defense Health Agency to undergo a gap analysis on whether the estimated “cost savings” outweighs the larger patient access, safety, and efficacy concerns or promotes better health outcomes for TRICARE patients. Furthermore, we ask DHA to amend its current PBM contract immediately to maintain TRICARE families' access to their trusted pharmacists, preventative healthcare services, and to protect the affordability, safety, and integrity of their families' medications.
We thank everyone for using their voices to protect the rights of those who have served our nation.
[https://www.change.org/p/express-scripts-contract-hurts-tricare-patients-dha-act-now](https://www.change.org/p/express-scripts-contract-hurts-tricare-patients-dha-act-now)
Express Scripts Contract Hurts TRICARE Patients: DHA Act Now