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Express Scripts spokesman Brian Henry said, however, the rates Walgreen charges to fill prescriptions are 20 percent higher than other pharmacies in its network, and the companies also disagreed over identifying generic drugs. "We've been open to having them in the network at rates that are right for our clients," he said. Walgreen said the break will hurt its sales and earnings during fiscal 2012. But it also expects to keep 97 to 99 percent of its fiscal 2011 prescription volume in the new fiscal year. The drugstore chain said more than 120 Express Scripts clients have either switched PBMs or taken other steps to maintain access to Walgreen pharmacies next year, and Wasson said he expects that total to grow. But Henry said only two Express Scripts clients have dropped it and switched to another PBM due to the Walgreen deal ending, and four others are keeping Walgreen in their pharmacy network. Walgreen fills one out of every five prescriptions in the U.S., and it filled about 819 million prescriptions in its last fiscal year. The company has about 7,800 stores. Shares of Walgreen fell 24 cents to $33.19 in Friday afternoon trading and have fallen more than 26 percent since it said it would stop doing business with Express Scripts. Shares of that company climbed 47 cents to $44.81 Friday but have fallen 18 percent since June.
[Associated
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