Towers Watson Announces a National Pharmacy Alliance with Loblaw

Ground-breaking agreement expected to help employers manage drug plan costs while supporting employee well-being

TORONTO, Nov. 13, 2012 /CNW/ - Towers Watson announced today that it has selected Loblaw Companies Limited (Loblaw), a leading provider of drug store products and services, and a health and wellness destination, as the preferred pharmacy services provider for its Towers Watson Canadian Rx Coalition, a collaborative network of private sector drug plan sponsors.

The arrangement with Loblaw is expected to improve employers' ability to offer their employees access to a robust range of drugstore health resources and support overall health and wellness needs while enabling long-term sustainability of their benefits programs in the face of rising costs.

"We're very excited about our partnership with Loblaw," said Wendy Poirier, Leader of the Canadian Health and Group Benefits Practice at Towers Watson. "It is a win-win for both employers and employees. The Coalition provides the resources that plan sponsors and members need to manage their health and drug programs more effectively. Our agreement with Loblaw will now ensure that Coalition members benefit from the pharmacy services and unique health and wellness experience available through a preferred care provider."

Towers Watson's Canadian Rx Coalition provides its members more efficient plan management, support for pharmacy benefit and clinical management, a stronger industry voice and now — the services of a preferred pharmacy provider network.

By participating in the Coalition's preferred pharmacy network employers will realize savings as compared to the cost of a typical drug plan, and more importantly, manage increasing drug costs in the future. Employee participants in the Coalition will benefit from the convenience and enhanced services offered to members by the Loblaw pharmacy network.

With more than thirty years of history in the Canadian pharmacy business and 500 pharmacies today in its network of banners, Loblaw is one of the largest full service retail drug retailers operating in Canada.  Loblaw offers a variety of patient education programs and in-store dietitians to address the health and wellness needs of customers and its stores are home to more than 100 medical clinics, 100 optical shops and 60 Goodlife Fitness facilities.

"Loblaw pharmacies are a cornerstone of our Company's health and wellness strategy and this alliance with Canadian Rx Coalition is a tremendous opportunity to bring our quality of pharmacy care, wellness services, and expert drug management to Canadian employers and their employees,"  said Dean Miller, vice-president, Pharmacy Operations, Loblaw Companies Limited.

To learn more about Loblaw banner store pharmacies, please visit www.drugstorepharmacy.ca and Loblaw.ca

Further information on the Towers Watson Canadian Rx Coalition can be found at www.towerswatson.com.

About Towers Watson
Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) is a leading global professional services company that helps organizations improve performance through effective people, risk and financial management. The company offers solutions in the areas of employee benefits, talent management, rewards, and risk and capital management. Towers Watson has 14,000 associates around the world and is located on the web at towerswatson.com.

About Loblaw Companies Limited 
Loblaw Companies Limited, a subsidiary of George Weston Limited, is Canada's largest food retailer and a leading provider of drugstore, general merchandise and financial products and services. Loblaw is one of the largest private sector employers in Canada. With more than 1,000 corporate and franchised stores from coast to coast, Loblaw and its franchisees employ more than 135,000 full-time and part-time employees. Through its portfolio of store formats, Loblaw is committed to providing Canadians with a wide, growing and successful range of products and services to meet the everyday household demands of Canadian consumers. Loblaw is known for the quality, innovation and value of its food offering. It offers Canada's strongest control (private) label program, including the unique President's Choice®, no name® and Joe Fresh® brands. In addition, the Company makes available to consumers President's Choice Financial® services and offers the PC® points loyalty program.

SOURCE: Towers Watson