• Arkansas: Walmart has expanded its same-day pharmacy services to include refrigerated and reconstituted medications. Currently, refrigerated medications, such as insulin, pediatric amoxicillin, and GLP-1 drugs, make up over 30% of Walmart's pharmacy sales. According to Becker's Hospital Review, Walmart is the first retailer to deliver refrigerated prescriptions alongside customers' everyday orders. "We continue to unlock new levels of convenience while also broadening access to critical medications," said Kevin Host, SVP of pharmacy at Walmart. "Adding refrigerated prescriptions to our Pharmacy Delivery capabilities is the result of listening to our customers, identifying where we can create even better, seamless experiences and keeping the communities we serve at the heart of what we do." Walmart first launched its pharmacy delivery service in October 2024 and has filled over 4 million pharmacy delivery orders since then. (Murphy, Becker's Hospital Review, 9/23; Walmart press release, 9/22)
• Ohio: Omnicare, CVS' pharmacy services subsidiary, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In its bankruptcy petition, Omnicare claimed up to $500 million in assets and between $1 billion and $10 billion in debts. The bankruptcy filing comes just two months after a federal judge ordered Omnicare to pay $948.8 million in penalties and damages after finding the company liable for filing fraudulent claims to the federal government for some prescription drugs. According to the Department of Justice, Omnicare's pharmacies sent medications to people in residential facilities based on "stale, invalid prescriptions" and fraudulently billed Medicaid and Medicare for drugs dispensed without a valid prescription between 2010 and 2018. In a statement, Omnicare president David Azzolina said the lawsuit did not include any allegations of harm to the company's patients and that the government did not allege that patients received anything but the medications they needed when they needed them. "The District Court nevertheless imposed an extreme and, we believe, unconstitutional penalty," Azzolina said. "Given that ruling and a number of other issues facing our business, we now are taking necessary steps to move forward and ensure the continued delivery of safe and reliable pharmacy service to our customers." (Pifer, Healthcare Dive, 9/22; Chapman, Associated Press, 9/23)
• Texas: VillageMD is selling 32 of its clinics in Texas to Harbor Health, a primary care and specialty clinic group based in Austin. Over the last few years, VillageMD has closed or sold dozens of its clinics as its parent company, Walgreens, worked to cut costs. Currently, VillageMD is operating as a standalone business after Walgreens was acquired by private equity firm Sycamore Partners. Through the deal, Harbor will gain 10 clinics in Austin, 10 in San Antonio, six in El Paso, and six in Dallas, as well as over 80 clinicians. According to Harbor, the acquisition marks the company's expansion into three new markets (San Antonio, El Paso, and Dallas) and helps accelerate its growth strategy by two to three years. "With a broader statewide presence, we are now positioned to serve up to 14 million Texans with care and coverage, up from 1.6 million currently," said Tony Miller, Harbor's cofounder and CEO. (Hudson, Modern Healthcare, 9/18)

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