Drugstores Seek to Halt New Medicare Card Plan

CVS Corp., Walgreen Co., other drugstores and pharmacists asked a federal judge to halt a new proposal by the Bush administration that would give Medicare beneficiaries discounts on prescription medicines.

The drugstore chains and pharmacists blocked an earlier proposal to give drug discount cards to Medicare patients, saying it would benefit Express Scripts Inc., AdvancePCS Inc. and other companies that would manage the program. That first plan would have forced pharmacies to give discounts, the chains said.

The administration withdrew the earlier plan and published a revised drug card proposal for Medicare, the U.S. health insurance program for the elderly and disabled. Drugstores and pharmacists said the new proposal violated the judge’s order blocking the plan.

U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman in a September ruling said the drug card program was not authorized by a federal law that Justice Department lawyers said allowed the government to provide information and assistance to Medicare recipients.

Under the new plan, published in the Federal Register this week, Medicare beneficiaries would pay a one-time enrollment fee of no more than $25 to join one of several card programs offered by companies with at least five years of experience in managing pharmacy benefits. Drug makers would be required to give discounts, which would probably be passed along to pharmacies that fill the prescriptions.