Retail Pharmacies and Largest Pharmacy Benefit Managers Announce Merger of E-Prescribing Networks -- Improving Safety,

ALEXANDRIA, VA and ST. PAUL, MN, Jul 01 (MARKET WIRE)
--
In the single most significant advance to the accuracy, efficiency and
quality of information associated with the 4 billion prescriptions
written annually in the United States, the nation's retail pharmacies and
leading pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) today announced an unprecedented
collaboration to unite the country's two leading health information
networks.

The groups have merged two organizations: RxHub, founded in 2001 by the
nation's three largest PBMs -- CVS Caremark Corporation, Express Scripts,
Inc. and Medco Health Solutions, Inc.; and SureScripts, also formed in
2001 by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and the
National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA). The organizations will
consolidate their operations, forming a single, secure, nationwide network
for e-prescriptions and the exchange of health information.

RxHub's expertise in patient identification and delivering drug benefit
information to the physician at the point of care complements
SureScripts' focus on electronic prescription routing from the
physician's office to the pharmacy. The merger combines these strengths
with a shared focus on more access to patient medication history to form
a single suite of comprehensive services. The new organization will
enable physicians to securely access vital health information when caring
for their patients through a fast and efficient health information
exchange. This will allow them to transmit electronic prescriptions and
renewal requests to both retail and mail-order pharmacies.

In 2008, the combined organization expects to transmit 100 million
electronic prescription transactions and respond to more than 70 million
requests by physicians confirming information about their patients' drug
coverages and medication histories. With appropriate patient consent, the
combined organization will extend this information to clinicians caring
for more than 200 million patients across the United States.

Easy, Efficient, Accurate, Safe and Secure

With this information more readily available, the process of prescribing
medications is measurably improved by:

-- providing physicians with added knowledge of their patients;
-- enabling a more informed choice of therapy;
-- ensuring that the medicine intended by the physician is actually and
accurately communicated to the pharmacy;
-- allowing patients to weigh important economic considerations within a
range of appropriate clinical options before a prescription is written; and
-- adding convenience to the overall process.

"I can think of 4 billion reasons this merger makes sense," said John
Driscoll, president, New Markets, Medco Health Solutions, Inc.
"Prescribing medications for patients is one of the most fundamental acts
in healthcare. If we, as an industry and as a nation, are serious about
improving the quality of care and making it more cost-effective, then
immediate and sweeping measures are required. This merger sets aside
historic economic and political differences to do what is necessary to
advance paperless prescribing and the secure exchange of critical
information between providers -- instantly elevating the quality of care."

"This merger represents a collaboration between industries that are
equally committed to improving healthcare," said Bruce Roberts, executive
vice president and CEO, NCPA. "The combined strengths of the two
organizations will enable the delivery of a single suite of services that
will dramatically improve the safety, efficiency and quality of one of the
largest segments in healthcare. We remain committed to maintaining the
guiding principles that have driven the success of SureScripts and RxHub
to date. We will continue to protect patient choice of pharmacy and
physician choice of therapy."

Today, there are hundreds of technology vendors developing electronic
medical records -- as well as other clinical software that includes
e-prescribing functionality -- used by physician practices across the
United States. For these vendors, the merger of RxHub and SureScripts
will offer a single, unified process for testing and certifying their
products' connection to a single network and the services it provides.
Streamlining these processes will save the industry time and money and
will offer physicians more of the information they need to provide
quality care to their patients.

The new organization will remain committed to proactively supporting the
standards that have been defined for electronic prescribing and health
information exchange and will continue to collaborate with leading
standards and accrediting organizations.

Merger Details

The boards of directors of both organizations approved the cashless merger
of equals. SureScripts' owners (NACDS and NCPA) will retain 50 percent
ownership as will RxHub's owners (CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and Medco
Health Solutions). The new organization will remain privately owned and
continue to operate under a cost-recovery model as a low-cost health
information utility.

Initially, the new organization will be jointly managed by the acting CEO
of RxHub, J.P. Little, and the acting CEO of SureScripts, Rick Ratliff.
The new board has begun a process to select a CEO and has retained Spencer
Stuart to conduct a nationwide search. Driscoll and Roberts will serve as
co-chairmen of the board of directors through 2009. The co-chairmen will
rotate on an annual basis to include one co-chair representing PBMs and
the other representing retail pharmacies. The new six-member board
includes a single director each from CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, Medco
Health Solutions, NACDS and NCPA. The sixth member of the board is
designated by NACDS and NCPA. The combined company will have more than 75
employees and will maintain its existing office locations in St. Paul and
Alexandria.

The new organization is undertaking a rebranding initiative. In the
interim, the company will be referred to as SureScripts-RxHub. For more
information regarding this merger, please visit www.SureScriptsRxHub.com.

E-Prescribing's Unprecedented Momentum

We expect this transaction to add momentum to the rapidly developing
nationwide support for e-prescribing. Some recent developments include:

-- In December of 2007, U.S. Sen. John Kerry joined with former Speaker
and founder of the Center for Health Transformation Newt Gingrich and a
number of Senate colleagues to announce the introduction of the Medicare
Electronic Medication and Safety Protection Act ("E-MEDS"). The E-MEDS bill
proposes to offer physicians reimbursements for investing in e-prescribing
technology as well as incentive payments each time a prescription is
transmitted electronically and the claim is submitted through Medicare.
-- During that same week in December, U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse
chaired a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Drug Enforcement
Administration's policy prohibiting e-prescribing of controlled substances.
This policy requires physician practices to maintain two separate processes
for prescribing: one that is paper-based for controlled substances and
another that is electronically based for all other medications. In the view
of many physicians and pharmacists, the administrative burden of
maintaining two separate processes is a significant barrier to adoption and
use of e-prescribing. If the DEA were to permit e-prescribing of
controlled substances, it would represent another potential boost to e-
prescribing adoption and use.
-- Beginning on March 4, 2008, the American Academy of Family Physicians
(AAFP), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of
Nurse Practitioners, the American Academy of Physician Assistants, the
American College of Cardiology (ACC), the American College of Obstetricians
and Gynecologists (ACOG), the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and
the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) took the unprecedented
action of not only announcing their support for e-prescribing, but also
launching a nationwide program and an online portal --
www.GetRxConnected.com -- where physicians can follow a step-by-step
process designed to help them transition from paper-based prescribing to e-
prescribing. www.GetRxConnected.com was created under the auspices of The
Center for Improving Medication Management (founded by the AAFP, Humana
Inc., Intel Corporation, the MGMA and SureScripts).
-- On April 2, 2008, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
issued final standards for e-prescribing under the Part D Medicare drug
program.
-- As of April 14, 2008, the following organizations have formally voiced
support for e-prescribing: AARP; AFL-CIO; American Federation of State,
County, and Municipal Employees; Center for Medical Consumers; Childbirth
Connection; Consumers Union; Health Care For All; National Consumers
League; National Family Caregivers Association; National Partnership for
Women & Families; and SEIU.
-- On June 27, 2008, the DEA proposed regulations that would provide
physicians and other authorized prescribers with the option of issuing
electronic prescriptions for controlled substances. These regulations would
also permit pharmacies to receive, dispense, and archive these electronic
prescriptions. The agency is seeking public comment on the proposed
regulations through September 25, 2008.

The timing of today's merger is, therefore, no coincidence. It
reflects the view by all board members that the merger will combine with
recent events to greatly accelerate the nation's move toward paperless
prescribing and the secure, electronic exchange of health information.

About SureScripts-RxHub

SureScripts-RxHub gives healthcare providers secure, electronic access to
prescription information that can save their patients' lives and reduce
the cost of healthcare for all. Available during emergencies or routine
care, SureScripts-RxHub's network is used by physicians, physician
assistants and nurse practitioners nationwide to exchange health
information and prescribe without paper. The next time you or anyone you
know goes for a checkup and your healthcare provider takes out their pad
and pen to write a prescription, take the opportunity to ask them for an
e-prescription instead. For more information, go to
www.SureScriptsRxHub.com.

SureScripts-RxHub Contact:
Rob Cronin
917-414-5289
rob.cronin@SureScriptsRxHub.com

Copyright 2008, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

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