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Pharmacies seek fair competition
Outsourced sales are costing state lots of jobs, cash |
| Tuesday, April 27, 2004 Lansing State Journal By Larry Wagenknecht |
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Although prescription drug coverage for employees and retirees is essential, the patient's ability to select a pharmacy is under direct attack. A growing trend in health-care benefits is to force plan participants and their families to obtain prescriptions by mail order, rather than from their local pharmacy.
A package of bills currently before the House Insurance Committee, known as the Consumer Prescription Protection legislation, would help preserve patients' ability to choose where to have prescriptions filled. This legislation: 1. Strengthens patient care. 2. Preserves patient choice. 3. Protects Michigan's economy, all while maintaining, and in many instances, decreasing prescription costs for both patients and employers. The goal of the legislation is to enable patients to receive multiple months' supply of medication (frequently 90 days) from their community pharmacy for the same copay as a mail order pharmacy, and to provide oversight of currently unregulated pharmacy benefit managers. Pharmacists want to dispense a 90-day supply of medication for the same copay, but pharmacy benefit managers prohibit this. Michigan's community pharmacists are willing to provide the multiple-month quantity of medication to the patient for the same reimbursement rate the company or health plan would pay a mail order pharmacy. If community pharmacies are willing to do it for the same price, how can it increase costs? If anything, competition with mail order will decrease costs. The United Auto Workers has provided inaccurate information to its members. The claim "these bills attack the union's right to collectively bargain for its membership ..." is erroneous. Language has been added to the bills that specifically states the legislation will NOT interfere with the unions' ability to collectively bargain for these types of health benefits. Most important, the legislation guarantees patients' choice to determine where to obtain medications. Local community pharmacists (chain and independent) accept the competition and believe they will provide personal pharmacy services superior to those provided by mail order and delivery persons. Outsourcing of Michigan jobs to other states is an important factor affecting the Michigan economy. Requiring patients to obtain their prescriptions from another state through the mail is an example of outsourcing affecting the economy and the ability for patients to receive quality health care. A study by Health Management Associates found that outsourcing of prescriptions because of mail order in 2003 caused the state to lose $1.9 billion of prescription sales, which is projected to result in a loss of 3,000 jobs and $117 million in lost salaries and wages. The legislation is supported by more than 50 state and national organizations, including the Michigan Nurses Association, senior organizations, Michigan State Medical Society, Michigan Osteopathic Association, the National Federation of Independent Business, health systems, and local and regional chambers of commerce. For more information on this critical issue, visit www.pharmacychoices.org. The right to choose your pharmacy is in the balance. Support of the Consumer Prescription Protection legislation will assure patient choice and superior health care while keeping business in Michigan. Larry Wagenknecht is a pharmacist and chief executive officer of the Michigan Pharmacists Association. |
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