Discounts can bring in business, but discounts too deep can be bad for the bottom line. George Badeaux, the new part-time pharmacist at Arrowhead Pharmacy, spoke with the county board November 23, 2010 about the possibility of the county participating in the National Association of Counties’ prescription drug discount program and how it could affect the pharmacy.
Under this program, administered through CVS/Caremark, patients can get an average of 22-24% off the cost of drugs that are not covered by an insurance plan.
Arrowhead Pharmacy is already a CVS/Caremark provider, serving cardholders that present the cards from other counties, but the business’s owner, Mike Schwartzwald, has expressed concern over the effect of providing this discount to Cook County residents. He is particularly concerned that reimbursement for brand name drugs might not cover the cost to dispense them, Badeaux said.
Commissioner Jim Johnson said he would not want to jeopardize the viability of the one drugstore in town.
Badeaux told the board that the pharmacy would be willing to participate “on a trial basis to see if it works.” If it turns out to not be profitable, the pharmacy would drop its participation in the network. This would mean it would not be able to use CVS/Caremark cards from other counties anymore, and it would not be able to process certain types of insurance company claims that go through that network. In those cases, people would have to submit claims to their insurance companies on their own.
Badeaux said he thinks the discount program will work in Cook County. He estimated that in other places he’s worked, 90% of the prescriptions people come in for are covered by insurance, in which case the card cannot be used.
The board unanimously passed a motion to participate in the prescription drug program. Processing the application will take about 10 weeks.
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