by Rick and Marge McCoy

Local pharmacists

Lately it seems that the topic of pharmacy is in our local newspapers a lot.  Our pharmacy on Lopez has been mentioned many times from grateful patients and for those kind words we are very grateful.  In the San Juan Islands we are all lucky that Friday Harbor, Orcas and Lopez each have their own pharmacy.  All three pharmacies are unique in many ways, but we share many of the same problems with pharmacies across the country.

Community pharmacies across  America are closing at an alarming rate, never to be replaced.  We have seen many challenges since  opening our first pharmacy almost 40 years ago.  We have found new and innovative ways to better our patient’s lives, which can be found on our web page, www.lopezislandpharmacy.com.

With the majority of our income dictated by large insurance companies, and even more so by Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), we have learned to roll with the punches.  These entities with their billions in profits try with each and every prescription we fill to put us out of business.  They mandate where you can have your prescriptions filled, usually at their own mail-order pharmacies.  When they let you utilize a local pharmacy they pay us whatever they want, take it or leave it is our choice.

In years past we tried to stay one step ahead of the PBMs, only to have them change the rules on a moment’s notice.  As nimble as we have been over the years the latest assault on us may be the death knell to the islands’ pharmacies.

Any business that wants to remain viable must make a profit, pharmacies are no exception.  The PBMs  that pay for our services now are paying us below the cost of the medications we are providing.  In years past when a medication went up in price, the PBMs would raise their reimbursement for the drug cost fairly quickly.  However recently they have not raised their reimbursements and are now paying us below the cost of the medication.  In our case we have lost over $8,000 in the first 8 months of the year.  Our margins are so slim, that this loss is dearly felt.

So their new strategy is to take patients away by force, to mail-order, and for the rest, pay us below our cost for the medication.  Some may say the local pharmacies are just too small to compete, however in our case we are part of a multi-state co-op that is the ninth largest chain in the country, we buy our products as well as most of the big chains.

Your mail-order or big box pharmacies certainly won’t open up  at 2 a.m. for those emergencies. If any of the islands lose their pharmacy, there may never be another on that island again.   There should be regulations that prohibit these predatory business practices.  Let your local representatives know how much you value local health care.

Remember local health care is not expensive, it’s priceless.