NEW YORK — CVS Caremark Corp. and Walgreen Co. have settled a dispute that threatened to change where millions of Americans can fill prescriptions.
The companies, which said Friday they have agreed on a multiyear deal but did not disclose its terms, were battling over the amounts Caremark reimburses Walgreens for filling prescriptions for Caremark patients.
Walgreens and CVS do billions of dollars in business together each year, yet the CVS chain is Walgreen’s top competitor. Last week, the companies said they would end their relationship and Walgreens would stop accepting Caremark insurance.
Walgreens, with more than 7,500 stores across the country, wanted Caremark to pay it more for filling prescriptions, and it wanted Caremark to drop policies encouraging members to fill prescriptions at CVS’s 7,000 stores. Caremark said last week that Walgreens was demanding unreasonable rates that would drive up health care costs for both Caremark patients and benefit sponsors like employers.
