We hear a lot about the problems faced by people who are unable to find affordable health insurance. What isn’t being talked about is how those problems affect pharmacies. In small towns, pharmacies are closing because not enough people can afford to pick up their medications there, due to lack of health insurance.
How often do you go to your local pharmacy? If you are a fairly healthy person, then you might not go there too often. After all, you can pick up things like kleenex, feminine products, and over the counter medications in most grocery stores. You don’t specifically need a pharmacy for that.
On the other hand, if you are someone who has a chronic illness, then you are probably a frequent visitor to your local pharmacy. Parents of children who have diabetes, ADHD, autism, or a variety of other special needs, find themselves making many trips to the local pharmacy in order to pick up prescription medications. A big group of people rely on the pharmacy that is located in their town, especially if the town is a small one, and the next closest pharmacy is a long drive away.
You hear a lot about the problems faced by people who can’t afford to buy health insurance, (and who don’t qualify for a public form of health insurance, such as Medicaid). What isn’t being talked about is how lack of health insurance coverage affects pharmacies, (especially ones that are located in small towns).
Cambria is a small town that is on the Central Coast of California. This week, the Cambria Village Pharmacy has officially closed it’s doors, forever. It was one of only two pharmacies that were located in the small town of Cambria. It was the one that had a huge display of yellow ducks in the window. A sign on the door of Cambria Village Pharmacy stated that they have transferred their records and prescription orders to the other pharmacy in town, the Cambria Drug & Gift.
The reason why the Cambria Village Pharmacy closed has everything to do with health insurance. The owner, Dana Nelson, also owns another pharmacy, called the Health Plus Pharmacy, which is located in the larger town of San Luis Obispo, California. Health Plus Pharmacy has been experiencing financial problems. The result was that owner Dana Nelson needed to close the smaller Cambria Village Pharmacy.
The cost of prescription drugs is going up. The amount that doctors and pharmacies are paid from insurance companies, and Medicare, has been dropping. A lot of people don’t have health insurance, which means that they cannot afford to go to the pharmacy to buy their prescription medications. When I didn’t have health insurance, I went online to order my prescription medication. Many others are doing this, too. That leaves pharmacies, (especially ones in small towns), with not enough income to stay in business. It leaves the people who depended on those pharmacies with fewer options.
Image by Florian Boyd on Flickr