Many UTU members obtain their prescription drugs through Medco, which has been acquired by Express Scripts following Federal Trade Commission approval of the corporate combination.

Notwithstanding the acquisition by Express Scripts of Medco, UTU members receiving mail order prescriptions through Medco will continue ordering and receiving their medications as they have in the past, without any changes.

All packaging and labels will remain the same, as will addresses and phone numbers for pharmacy-related questions and other information. Nor will there be a need to change retail pharmacies or alter home delivery orders in any manner.

The combined Express Scripts and Medco, known as pharmacy-benefit managers (PBMs), now control 40 percent of that market, according to the Economist magazine. PBMs, reported the Economist, encourage consumers to fill their prescriptions through the mail instead of going to a more costly pharmacy. 

Express Scripts recently launched a program, ScreenRx, which utilizes software to sift through hundreds of factors that affect patients and forecast who is most likely to forget a refill or simply stop taking their drugs. The company then plans to contact those patients to help them stick with their doctor’s orders.

Living in the Nashville area, affected by the floods, and in need of your prescription drugs from Medco?

Medco advises that the U.S. Post Office has established temporary mail facilities at two locations in the City of Nashville:

  • The Melrose Station, located at 798 Berry Road, was damaged by flood waters, but a mobile postal van is available in the parking lot of the facility to meet the needs of customers. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday only, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. CT. Post Office box customers at Melrose may also pick up their mail from the mobile van during normal hours with proper identification.
  • The homes of many customers served by Nashville’s Bellevue Station are still inaccessible for mail delivery. Mail is being held at the post office located at 7619 Highway 70, and may be picked up during normal business hours (Monday through Friday, 8 am. – 6 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. CT). Customers must present proper identification.

These special services will be available at both locations until further notice.

Earlier, Medco advised that flooding in the Nashville area was affecting timely delivery of Medco shipments.

Medco said Accredo’s Hemophilia Health Services (HHS) location in Nashville is inaccessible due to flooding.

HHS Clearance Management employees were working from home to clear priority shipments and local operations management and on-call staff are available via cell phone and are moving to a backup site. HHS is shipping immediate-need orders to patients through its other pharmacies to maintain continuity of care.

The Medco Pharmacy has placed shipping restrictions on temperature-sensitive and narcotic orders to specific ZIP codes in the Nashville area.