Lincoln independent pharmacy shuts down after 30 years
A steady stream of current and former customers stopped by the bright, cozy store at
But Stacy couldn't escape a tinge of bitterness over the fact that financial pressure -- from increasingly stingy private insurance plans and reduced payments through the state's 2018 reboot of Medicaid managed care -- played a role in his decision to close at this time.
"Insurance reimbursements are horrendous," he said. "They keep getting worse every year."
Falk said the pharmacies in
The closures left those towns with no pharmacies. Prescriptions for the hundreds of regular customers were transferred to Walgreens stores in
Falk said the recent closures continue to prove that pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, which work for the state's contracted "managed-care organizations," need more regulation from state government to prevent unfair treatment of independent pharmacies.
"When you go from making
Even though Medicaid represented less than 10 percent of Stacy's business, he, too, favored legislation to promote "fair reimbursement" for independent pharmacies.
Otherwise, he said, "Other little towns are going to lose their independent pharmacy, and people will have to drive a longer distance to get service."
The
Advocates for managed-care organizations and PBMs say the managers save states money in their Medicaid systems. But advocates for pharmacy owners say
And because at least one PBM, CVS Caremark, is owned by the huge chain that operates CVS pharmacies, independent pharmacies say Caremark's rate cuts may be designed to put independents out of business.
"We're seeing in other states the exact same problem," said state Rep.
Critics of PBMs, including some
State Sen.
Manar said he plans to push one such proposal, an amended version of House Bill 3479, for passage in the veto session this year or the 2019 spring session.
The state may not be saving money in the long run by using PBMs, and
More closures are inevitable under the status quo, Manar said.
He said he has been frustrated by officials in the Rauner administration "dragging their feet" to implement a program of
Rauner aide
In May, when the governor was asked to respond to pharmacy owners' complaints about any harmful effects of the managed-care reboot, HealthChoice Illinois, Rauner spoke about the need for competition.
"The reality is what we're trying to do is drive more competition, and sometimes businesses can be competitive in costs, and some businesses can't," Rauner said at a
Rauner also said at that time: "My concern is to make sure we have high-quality health care provided to our residents who need it and deserve it, and that we drive real value for taxpayers. It's unfair to our taxpayers to subsidize businesses that are high-cost."
Wednesday's closure of Stacy's
The Kroger pharmacy is closing
The closing of Stacy's
The pharmacies in
Some of the employees at the three pharmacies have found new jobs or have new jobs lined up, the owners said.
State Rep.
"The issue is complex, and he's hopeful we can find a way to ensure small pharmacies have as equal an opportunity as larger ones," Gerwig said.
Contact
___
(c)2018 The State Journal-Register, Springfield, Ill.
Visit The State Journal-Register, Springfield, Ill. at www.sj-r.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
EDITORIAL: Good move to toughen penalties for texting while driving
S&P 500 Marks Longest Bull Run On Mixed Day For Indexes
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News