This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Express Scripts is a company that acts as a middleman between pharmacies providing health care services and employers & their health plans. Last December 31^st 2011, the contract between Walgreens and Express Script expired and both parties have parted ways. Express Scripts was asking for an increase in the price of their services which would have resulted in higher cost for the end customer. Walgreens would not accept their demands and as of January 1^st 2012, Walgreens is no longer a part of the Express Scripts network. All Walgreens pharmacies nationwide and Duane Reade pharmacies in the New York City area are no longer included in the Express Scripts pharmacy network. This change of network provider forces Walgreens pharmacy customers to find new sources for their prescription medications or purchase them outside of the Express Scripts network.

The dispute will affect many people. One of Express Scripts clients who is affected by the dispute is Tricare, the health and prescription drug program for the US military. If you are wondering if this dispute will affect you, talk to your local Walgreens pharmacy. To help ease the burden on those who are affected by this change of network coverage, Walgreens is offering a special discount on annual membership for the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club. An individual can join during a special January promotion for only $5 .A $10 fee for a family membership covers everyone in your immediate family and pets. Benefits include savings on more than 8,000 brand name and all generic medications, discounts on flu shots, pet prescriptions, nebulizers, diabetic supplies and bonuses when you purchase Walgreens brand products and photofinishing services.

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Posted by Winford Tillman

My daughter and son-in-law moved into a new house last year and I wanted to do something special for them since they’d never owned their own home before. I know my daughter was nervous about making sure the décor looked good (it did, of course) and her husband was stressed about them keeping the mortgage up so I went online and decided to get them cable tvso they’d at least have a way to unwind when they got home from work at night. My daughter says they’re loving it and they’ve even had a few movie date nights at home which makes me so happy…that was my intent all along! Her father and I used to do that when we were younger and it really helped us bond and keep our marriage strong in the long run. I’m so proud of them for getting a new place and for becoming so adult seemingly overnight. I don’t know what happened but all of a sudden my baby girl was a woman!

The Author of this post is Cheryl Martinez

Last week, my sister’s house got broken into. Her neighborhood is what they call “up and coming” but it’s still...well, not very up. She and her fiance are pretty shaken up but they are okay. The burglars didn’t mess the house up a great deal but they did make away with a lot of their things. My sister’s jewelry, for one, took a pretty big hit and they no longer have a t.v. but at least they are unhurt, for which we are all extremely thankful. One good thing did come of this though - they finally agreed to get an alarm system installed in their house. I kept telling them they should get one but they said I was too paranoid and they’d be fine. I usually enjoy saying “I told you so” but in this case, I have refrained as it seems a little too...shall we say petty? They’ve started researching companies and went to www.homesecurityFAMILY.com, where they explored package options and I think they’re going to call for an installation appointment sometime this week. Hopefully, it will make them feel more secure and give them peace of mind. Right now, that’s probably exactly what they need. Who wants to feel like intruders can get into their home whenever they want?