Independent pharmacies ask level playing field

Veto: State fight not over as legislators, pharmacies unhappy

  • Suzanne Davenport helps a customer at Southern Drug Company in Blue Ridge. She says local, independent pharmacies are counting on state legislators to bring back SB 198. State Representative Johnny Chastain (R-Blue Ridge) says the goal of the bill is to level the playing field between the large chains and the small business owners in regard to prescription reimbursements.
    Suzanne Davenport helps a customer at Southern Drug Company in Blue Ridge. She says local, independent pharmacies are counting on state legislators to bring back SB 198. State Representative Johnny Chastain (R-Blue Ridge) says the goal of the bill is to level the playing field between the large chains and the small business owners in regard to prescription reimbursements.

    Chastain says new law will come back up

    Owners of independent, local pharmacies and 218 state legislators from all over Georgia suffered a setback with a May 7 veto by Governor Brian Kemp, but the fight is not over.

    At least that is the position being taken by State Representative Johnny Chastain (R-Blue Ridge) and Suzanne Davenport, owner of Southern Drug Company in Blue Ridge. Davenport is also a member of PharmPAC, the political action committee of the Georgia Pharmacy Association.

    Kemp vetoed Senate Bill 198 that would have required pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) and the State Health Benefit Plan (SHBP) to reimburse independent drugstores “at an amount not below the average reimbursement for chain retail pharmacies for the same drug.” The SHBP covers teachers and all state employees.

    The bill had passed the state House and Senate with only one “no” vote while receiving  a combination of 218 “yes” votes in the two chambers.

    Chastain said Kemp’s veto “was a big disappointment.” He said the goal of legislators was to “create a level playing field for all our small town pharmacies.”

    Describing the need for that level playing field, Davenport said the PBMs “pay me less than what I pay for the drugs in a lot of cases.”

    Figures reported from the Georgia Pharmacy Association have shown large chains such as Walgreens, CVS and Walmart have been reimbursed as much as 2,367 percent higher for Lipitor, which treats cholesterol, and 512 percent higher for Lexapro, which treats anxiety and depression, than independent pharmacies.

    Joe Ed Holt, a former president of the Georgia Pharmacy Association, was quoted by Capital Beat news service as saying, “Out of every ten prescriptions filled, they (independent pharmacies) probably lose money on five.” He said this throws local, independent pharmacies, “Into a battle to stay open.”

    Davenport agrees the disparity is “causing a lot of pharmacies to go out of business.”

    The battle has been seen in many areas of Georgia as local pharmacies have closed, the closest being Bell’s Pharmacy in Tate.

    Davenport stands by the value of independent pharmacies and the health care services they bring to local communities. “Keeping our community healthier,” is the goal, she said.

    Among the services touted by local pharmacies are the personal counseling that is readily available without long lines and wait times. Many provide local delivery of prescriptions for shut ins and others who need the service.

    “We do a lot of vaccinations,” she said, speaking of her own pharmacy, which also offers a diabetes clinic and makes arrangements with local businesses to visit those businesses for flu shot clinics.

    Independent pharmacies are “local people who work in the community to keep it healthier,” she said.

    When he announced his veto, Kemp said the bill would cost the state insurance plan $45 per million year, an amount not funded by the General Assembly.

    But Kemp did sign House Bill 916 that provides a $3 per prescription dispensing fee for independent pharmacies.

    Davenport said, “We are thankful for those funds.”

    But the fight for a level playing field is not over. Chastain said the bill is expected to come up again in the next legislative session. “We’re not done,” he said.