(Created: )
The only pharmacies in Garrett, Avilla and Albion closed permanently Dec. 12.
Thomas Feichter, president and owner of Fischer Pharmacy & Home Medical in Albion, Fischer Pharmacy & Home Medical in Avilla and Garrett Pharmacy & Home Medical in Garrett announced the closings.
Insurance company practices, higher pharmacist wage demands, a shortage of pharmacists, price competition from stores such as Wal-Mart and Target and a growing mail-order business have combined to cause a bleak future for small-town pharmacies, Feichter said.
All patients' prescription files were transferred to CVS Pharmacies in Kendallville and Auburn. All employees of the three pharmacies are being hired by CVS, Feichter said.
Feichter's company, Pharmacy Holdings LLC, owned four pharmacies and two medical stores. The company will retain the Hicksville Pharmacy in Hicksville, Ohio. His Warsaw medical store is being sold this month, and Pharmacy Holdings LLC will keep its home medical store in Angola.
"I am saddened to hear that our pharmacy is closing," said Garrett Common Council member Tonya Hoeffel. "(Pharmacist) Tamara (Jauregui) and her staff have been a wonderful asset to our downtown. I truly appreciate the community support Garrett Pharmacare has given Garrett the past three years."
The Garrett store opened in December 2003 with retail merchandise, adding a pharmacy line in early 2004. It was housed in the former Garrett State Bank building at the corner of King and Randolph streets.
Feichter said the Garrett store and pharmacy never became profitable, especially with the emergence of mail-order drug companies.
"Customers need to watch their pocketbooks. I don't blame them for that," he said.
Prescription volumes of many small-town pharmacies are not large enough to offset the much higher pharmacist wages, combined with lower payments to pharmacies from the insurance companies, he said.
"We have no leverage with insurance companies," Feichter said. "If we want to sign up and be in network, they tell us, 'Here is the reimbursement you'll receive.' If we decline, then patients will be out of network and pay more for their prescriptions or travel to an in-network pharmacy miles away."
With the growing demand for pharmacists, small-town pharmacies cannot pay competitive wages, Feichter added. Prescription volumes are not large enough to offset the higher wages.
Many insurance plans also require patients with regular prescriptions to purchase the drugs through mail order, taking business away from local pharmacies, Feichter said.
And small-town pharmacies cannot compete on pricing with big stores like Wal-Mart and Target for over-the-counter and other nonprescription products, he said.
"This closing will be a big hit to downtown Albion," said Mitch Fiandt, Albion Town Council member. "I'm very disappointed CVS didn't step in to replace it."
Fiandt expressed concern for Albion's elderly residents, who will have to travel to get their prescriptions filled.
Fiandt said he would support giving a tax abatement to entice another pharmacy to open in Albion. The Northridge Village commercial development site just north of town would be a good location for a new pharmacy, he suggested.
Source
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment