CVS will rejoin the TRICARE pharmacy network as of Dec. 15, while Walmart/Sam’s Club will leave the network at the same time, Express Scripts officials told MOAA. With the change, military families will have access to the two largest chain drugstores in the U.S. – Walgreens and CVS – together with many smaller chains and independent pharmacies.

The change is part of the next generation TRICARE pharmacy contract. Given the preliminary information available, MOAA believes the quality of the TRICARE pharmacy program will be maintained with these network adjustments and even improved for many beneficiaries. We understand families who fill prescriptions at Walmart or Sam’s Club will be inconvenienced, but others will be pleased to once again have CVS as an option for their prescription medications. With the robust number of CVS pharmacies, these network revisions will be a positive change for most military families.

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Beneficiaries who get prescriptions filled at Walmart or Sam’s Club will receive a letter notifying them of the change. The letter will include three local TRICARE network pharmacies they might consider using instead, together with suggestions on how to transfer prescriptions most easily to another retail pharmacy, home delivery, or a military treatment facility (MTF) pharmacy.

Families who fill prescriptions at Walmart or Sam’s Club will need to move them to another TRICARE network pharmacy location by Dec. 15.

Beneficiaries who fill specialty medications at Walmart or Sam’s Club will receive a letter and phone call from Express Scripts to assist in moving the prescription to another network specialty pharmacy. Due to the complexity of specialty medications, beneficiaries will have a 30-day grace period to move their specialty medication. The grace period is for specialty medications only; non-specialty prescriptions must be transferred by Dec. 15.

Changes to network participation are part of any prescription drug plan and help to keep costs down. MOAA will continue to monitor access to retail network pharmacies and stand by to assist impacted MOAA members who encounter problems finding an alternate pharmacy as the Dec. 15 transition date approaches. Please report problems with transferring your prescriptions to legis@moaa.org.

Please watch MOAA’s social media and The MOAA Newsletter for reminders and more information about this change to the TRICARE Pharmacy program.