ST. LOUIS (KMOX) -  It’s a very public corporate battle that’s made getting prescriptions a lot more difficult, and more expensive, for millions of people.

Months of negotiations failed to produce a new agreement and the contract between Walgreens and Express Scripts, which is based in north St. Louis County, expired January 1st.

Each side blames the other for the conflict.

“We actually had an offer on the table that kept our rates flat for the next three years,” said Kermit Crawford, president of Pharmacy, Health and Wellness for Walgreens. “Express Scripts did not accept that offer.”

That doesn’t match up with Brian Henry’s assessment – he’s a spokesperson for Express Scripts.

“Walgreens is now out of our network, they left unilaterally,” Henry told KMOX News. “Having one pharmacy chain like Walgreens, which is twenty-percent higher on average compared to other pharmacies in our network, is not consistent with what our clients want.”

Walgreens is now offering discounts and other incentives to retain as many Express Scripts customers as possible.

Copyright KMOX Radio