News in brief - March 21, 2011

Aetna, Carilion Clinic announce plans to establish ACO

Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna will launch an accountable care organization in partnership with Carilion Clinic, a chain of eight hospitals and dozens of primary care and specialty clinics in Virginia.

Carilion, which employs more than 600 physicians, is based in Roanoke, Va., and serves about 1 million people in western Virginia.

The two organizations plan to introduce co-branded health plans for businesses and individuals and develop new payment arrangements for physicians that reward quality care and share savings achieved with efficient care, according to a March 10 news release.

The announcement said the clinic will continue to accept other health insurance plans.

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Walgreens sells its PBM business

Walgreen Co. announced that it plans to sell its pharmacy benefit management business, Walgreens Health Initiatives, to Rockville, Md.-based Catalyst Rx.

Walgreens said the deal is part of a plan to focus more on expanding its pharmacy and health and wellness businesses, which includes the retail clinic chain Take Care Health.

Rumors of Walgreens' intention to sell its PBM business started in 2009. Many analysts predicted that Express Scripts would be the purchaser after it acquired WellPoint's PBM NextRx in 2009.

Catalyst, whose business will grow to more than 18 million members because of the acquisition, is paying Walgreen Co. $525 million cash.

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