History
Medco was founded as National Pharmacies in 1983.[8] In 1984, after an IPO, National Pharmacies became Medco Containment Services, LLC.[8] In 1993, Medco Containment was acquired by Merck & Co., Inc. and became Merck-Medco.[8][9]
On October 2, 2001, UnitedHealth Group, Merck-Medco, and Accenture launched Xceleron Health LLC, a company created to deliver consulting and business acceleration services to emerging technology-based companies in the healthcare industry.[10]
In 2002, Merck & Co announced plans to spin off Merck-Medco.[8] In August 2003, Medco Health Solutions, Inc. became an independent company.[11] On August 28, 2005, Medco Health Solutions contributed $5,000 to the Southwestern Oklahoma State University College of Pharmacy Scholarship Fund.[12]
In October 2005, Medco was selected as the finalist of a three-year pharmacy benefit contract for the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) Self-Funded Health Plans to begin July 1, 2006.[13]
In March 2008, Medco launched a collaboration with Sweden's (then) government-operated retail pharmacy authority, Apoteket, to develop and deliver the first automated electronic prescription review system to improve clinical and financial outcomes for Swedish patients and the country's healthcare system.[14][15]
In 2009, Medco established the Medco Research Institute – an evidence-based research organization.[16][17]
In April 2012, it was acquired by Express Scripts.[18]
Lawsuit
In 2004, Medco settled a lawsuit brought by 20 states alleging that they failed to disclose incentives they received from drug companies and improperly switched or pressured doctors to switch patient's medication that added costs to their health plans.[19] They agreed to pay $29.3 million.[19]
In 2005, Medco Health Solutions agreed to pay the United States $155 million plus interest to settle allegations that it accepted kickbacks from drug makers and submitted false claims to the government.[20] There was no admission of guilt or finding of wrongdoing in either settlement.
Acquisitions
In 2005, Medco acquired Accredo Health for $2.2 billion, a specialty pharmaceutical company.[21] In 2007, Medco acquired diabetes care supplier PolyMedica.[22]
