Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. said Tuesday that it will require customers to be at least 21 years old to purchase tobacco in any of its more than 9,500 stores nationwide. The policy starts Sept. 1.
The Justice Department’s approval clears the way for a merger that will create a health care giant with a hand in insurance, prescription-drug benefits and drugstores across the United States.
The move represents a formidable challenge to pharmacy chains including Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and CVS Health Corp., the two largest drugstore chains in the United States.
The bill now moves to the House, which is expected to vote soon on its own Sunday sales proposal with similar terms.
Pressure is building on the insurer to drop its conservative, bread-and-butter approach after one of its biggest rivals, Aetna Inc., agreed to be bought by drugstore chain CVS Health for $69 billion.
The deal comes as the health sector is looking over the horizon at Amazon.com Inc., and how the company could transform the business of buying, distributing and selling drugs and medical products if it gets into health care.
Walgreens has more than 50 stores in the Indianapolis area. Rite-Aid operates 10 stores in Indiana, but none in the Indianapolis area.
A pharmacist at a facility whose tainted drugs sparked a nationwide meningitis outbreak that killed 76 people, including five people in Indiana, was cleared Wednesday of murder but was convicted of other crimes.
Three Indiana pharmacists have been reprimanded by state regulators for trying to access Prince's medical records within days of the music superstar's death last year.
Indianapolis-based insurer Anthem Inc. said it will set up its own pharmacy benefits management unit, signaling a final break with Express Scripts Holding Co. after the health insurer accused Express of overcharging it by billions of dollars.
Harry Zhang pleaded guilty to two felonies this month after charged with illegally obtaining prescriptions from Canada and Germany and reselling them in China.
Walgreens and Rite Aid have finally devised a combination of the nation's largest and third-largest drugstore chains that will get past antitrust regulators.
Under the new agreement, Walgreens will buy 2,186 stores, three distribution centers and related inventory from Rite Aid for about $5.18 billion in cash.
State law prohibits grocery stores without pharmacies from selling spirits, prompting Marsh to offer big discounts on its inventory.
Pharmacy grads used to have their pick of six-figure jobs. But competition stiffened after dozens of new schools opened, sharply increasing the supply of newly minted pharmacists.
The vice president of the Indiana Board of Pharmacy has agreed to pay a fine for participating in several votes involving a pharmacy he was buying.
Community said having Walgreens run its pharmacies will give its patients access to more pharmacy locations with expanded hours. The hospital network also was impressed by Walgreens' technology that allows patients to interact with the pharmacy digitally.
There were more pharmacy robberies in Indiana last year than California, which has a population about six times larger.
Pharmacists in Indiana will be able to limit how much cold medicine customers can buy under a measure Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed into law Monday.
A bill to allow Indiana pharmacists to serve as gatekeepers for cold medicines that contain the common methamphetamine ingredient pseudoephedrine is on its way to Gov. Mike Pence for consideration.
