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New Drug Plan Harming Independent Pharmacies

Posted on: Saturday, 18 February 2006, 15:00 CST

By Justin Boggs, Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.

Feb. 18--VICTORVILLE -- Local pharmacy owner Mike Sayed said Medicare is referring patients to national chain drug stores and it's harming his small business. Sayed, who has been doing business in the Victor Valley for the past six years, said he has lost 50 percent of the business he used to do with Medi-care patients because to changes in a federal prescription-drug program.

As of Jan. 1, many of those receiving assistance for prescription drug benefits from the federal government were switched to a new assistance program called Medicare Plan-D. Under the new plan, those receiving benefits are now required to make a nominal co-payment in order to receive their prescriptions. Printed information given to patients lists chain pharmacies such as Walgreens or Wal-Mart as honoring the new program but makes no mention of independent pharmacies doing so, said Sayed, owner of A+ Pharmacy in Victorville. "They are misleading the patient to go to the chain," said Sayed. "Even when (the patient) calls Medicare they are told to go to a chain. We will still take the insurance." Other pharmacies said they are feeling the pain as well. Jatin Metha of Queen's Pharmacy in Hesperia estimates that he is doing 10 percent less business since the beginning of the year due to the program changes. He attributed the loss to the advertisements found on information the patients receive from Medicare. "The patients see the ads and say, 'Oh, OK, we have to go here,' " said Metha, who has done business locally for the past four years. "It doesn't help because our reimbursements are worse under the new Part-D plans. It's a lose-lose situation." Sayed noted that independent pharmacies sometimes charge less for prescriptions than large chains. From Here: -- Back to today's news -- News Archive -- Join the discussion at the community forum

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Copyright (c) 2006, Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.

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Source: Daily Press - Victorville, California

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