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The recent rollout by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of a discount generic prescription drug program appears to be placing pressure on drugstores and other retailers to lower generic drug prices. On the heels of Wal-Mart's announcement that it is expanding the program to stores in 27 states, drugstore operator CVS Corp. announced a merger with pharmacy benefits manager Caremark Rx Inc. The deal, CVS said, will enable employers and health plans to better manage costs, while still providing health plan participants with direct access to pharmacy services. Automatic 401(k) Enrollment Not A Panacea For Low Savings Rates Automatically enrolling employees in 401(k) plans is effective in increasing overall participation rates, but many enrolled workers will still fail to save adequately for retirement unless 401(k) sponsors improve default contribution rates and the quality of default investment choices, according to a study by human resources firm Hewitt Associates. Health Care Cost-Sharing Produces Different Outcomes For Different Populations Higher health insurance cost-sharing can reduce the use of medical services without affecting health outcomes for most workers, but people at high medical risk are negatively impacted by high co-insurance rates, especially if they are low-income, according to a study released by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Rising Costs Fuel Discontent With Health Care System Americans are increasingly worried about the impact of health care costs on their financial well-being, and they believe steps should be taken to slow the rising cost of medical care, according to an annual survey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). |
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