Testimonials

“I am concerned about the law pertaining to the ownership of pharmacies. I’m actually a resident from South Dakota, but because of distance we have used the Hettinger, North Dakota pharmacy for decades. I urge you to not change the law, but to keep it as it reads for the following reasons:

          Small town pharmacies could not compete with the larger chains, therefore making the distance a huge factor in rural areas.

          You may be able to save a few dollars at Wal-Mart, Walgreens, etc., but you can never replace the care and concern a small town pharmacist gives. They are very willing to take the time needed to answer your questions concerning your prescriptions.

          There is such a ripple effect in our small towns anytime a business is closed. We lose caring people who do a tremendous amount of community service. We also love people that support the economy of a small town.

Once again, I urge you to keep the law as it reads.”

“I really feel this is a big city vs rural issue. If the law is changed you are closing the doors on many small towns in ND. When the pharmacy closes due to being unable to compete, so will many other businesses on small town mainstreet.

“I was born and raised on a farm near Ray, ND. Our family of nine did all of our shopping in our small town. My parents continue to live on the farm and travel to Tioga for their doctor and pharmacy needs. If it were not for Tim Joyce owner/pharmacist at Tioga Drug, I honestly do not believe my parents would be able to continue to live at home independently. My dad was put on Coumadin after surgery and needs weekly blood draws. We had the lab call Tim directly and he would set up Dad’s blood thinner for the following week. Tim monitors my mom’s medication also. When she does not call or go in for refills Tim informs me so I can follow up. This has prevented mom from forgetting to order or take needed medication.

“Do you think a large chain store pharmacy is going to do this? Do you think a chain store pharmacy is going to know all its patrons, as well as their children? If this law goes through, my parents will continue to get their medications from Tioga Drug, AS LONG AS IT IS OPEN.

“I firmly believe Wal-Mart will do with their pharmacy exactly what they’ve done with everything else. They will offer some medications for $4 each until the small pharmacies close, then the prices will go up. That is exactly what Wal-Mart did in Williston… lowered prices until K-Mart was forced to close. One week after K-Mart closed, Wal-Mart raised prices on everything.

“Rural ND does not have the big population, but believe me, these folks have been the backbone of this state. They are the farmers, ranchers, oil field workers, and power plant employees. The small communities these people live in have sacrificed enough. Leave the law as it is. Keep our pharmacies owned by local pharmacists.”

“I did not have a chance to testify on HB 1440; but their was a lot of emphasis put on the fact that if you have a good service people will come and rural areas will be exempt as people will not travel to population centers. I can tell you that this is not true. I have already lost 10+ rxs a day because I cannot get Prescription Benefit Manager's to give me contracts let alone negotiate reimbursement. Why, you ask? I'm being told that a network is already in place. The so called network is Wal-Mart. Yes, their Bottineau store has 46 Medicare D contracts in place along with a NPI (national identification number). CMS in Denver has stated that this is completely illegal and possibly fraudulent--as a pharmacy that does not exist cannot have contracts or a NPI number. As CMS cannot help us get contracts, these people, some of whom have been customers for 30 years, are mailing or using CVS. I have a 7 page list of these non-existent contracts as well as a copy of the NPI number and would gladly fax them to anyone interested.

     Secondly, we see two-three people daily that cannot afford their drugs. If we cannot find them samples or other assistance, we do not turn them away. The drug is usually charged or in many instances just plain given away. Every year I end up writing off about 10% of my accounts receivable -- but people are not turned away or charged at least $4 for every rx that goes out the door. Incidently, my average cost/rx is $46 dollars. This would be considerably lower; but when your volume is only about 160, large ticket items really skew the totals. Losing 10 rxs/day also hurts.

     I employ 1 full-time pharmacist, 1 part-time pharmacist, 1 full-time tech, 1 tech in training and myself. It seems like overkill; yet, we all seem to be busy helping someone or working with the nursing home or insurance problems or helping Doctors find alternative medications.

     Lastly, I urge you not to overturn the ownership law, as ND is unique, and there is a lot more behind door #1 than $4 drugs.”

“I oppose HB 1440 for several reasons. The most significant impact is the possibility of rural pharmacies losing a portion of their market share. This could cause a number of them to close thereby making access to medications difficult for those who live in rural North Dakota. For example, if a pharmacy loses 10-20 percent of its clientele and has to close, then the other 80-90 percent of current clientele would be required  to travel a considerable distance in order to fill their prescriptions.

Currently North Dakota has prescription drug prices that are below the national average. I do not think we will benefit from certain generic prescription medications priced at $4, because general generic medications are already reasonably priced.

Certainly not all people needing prescriptions will need one of these $4 medications, and I do not believe that “big-box” stores remaining medications will be priced significantly lower than our current pharmacists.

Finally, what will happen to the quality of services that North Dakotans are accustomed to? What influence will a pharmacist have in a pharmacy owned by a non-pharmacist? The profession of pharmacy should be under control of pharmacists and not allowed to be managed by a person or company who has no professional training in pharmacy.

Under the current pharmacy ownership law, pharmacists of North Dakota provide excellent service and have allowed access to medications to rural North Dakota with prices below the national average. The current ownership law should remain unchanged.”

“The changing of the pharmacy ownership law means so much to us in rural areas like Barnes County. It would be a horrible thing if it did change. Not only for our pharmacies but also for grocery, hardware, clothing and all other types of businesses in our small communities. We have tremendous main streets that are alive all across our state. Please don’t put that in jeopardy like it has been in other states. What we have works. Our pharmacies are working, and serve us very well.”

“Do we really want to be like everyone else in the country? Is everything working well in other states? I don’t think so. We are a special state and our laws and ways of life work. Don’t change something unless it is broken and we are not broken. The truth is that we have the lowest prescription cost in the country and our rural communities. They need this NOT to change. We need to support our small town and elderly people.”

"I would like to express my concern about this pharmacy law that some would like to get changed. My thought is to keep it the same as is. I will tell you why.

I do understand that Wal-Mart and Walgreens say that they can give it to the insurance and customers for a lower price. They can also mail out meds at no cost to the customer, O.K. But will they deliver to the rural areas?

My example. I have epilepsy. I am on Social Security and MA, and I do get my meds paid for through Medicare. I also receive almost $700 of Social Security. I am low-income. I also like my small rural town of Grafton, ND. When I start getting seizures I do forget to call my meds in on time. So I might call that day to reorder my meds, and if I can’t make it there they will deliver. Do you think Wal-Mart or Walgreens are going to do that? No!.

Also my husband is a migrant farm worker that depends on Migrant Health Services, also in Grafton ND. They do look for resources outside Grafton, but they also depend on the local pharmacy for services to their clients. I do not understand if the Legislators want to change this law or who brought the idea about.

The last thing I would like to mention is I thought President Obama stated he wanted to better our economy. But how can he if you decide to change this law. It probably benefits the large cities, but what about the small towns that won’t benefit from this change? They will die. Our physicians and pharmacists have a great impact on my community and the people that live in small towns. What about people like me that are low income and can’t travel to get meds?"

"I support a do not pass on HB 1440.

The editorial in the February 1, 2009 Bismarck Tribune supports the bill. I would like to know where the editor got the facts and figures to back up the statement, “Try to base your vote on doing the most good for the greatest number of people, however you arrive at that – preservation of rural communities in North Dakota, significant savings for all North Dakotans or some other measurement or combination of considerations.” I would like to see the statistical data or surveys that were done to arrive at the “significant savings.” Is the information coming from commercials the North Dakotans for Affordable Healthcare have been airing for six months?

It is unfortunate that this special interest group has taken it upon itself to destroy the honesty, integrity and professionalism that the pharmacists in this state practice with everyday. The image and message it is trying to convey is that the pharmacists have been overcharging because of the law that states, “a pharmacy must be 51% owned by a pharmacist.”

I am convinced there is a misperception about how a pharmacy prices drugs. If you have private insurance, Medicaid, Medicare part D, workers’ comp or any other patient assistant program for prescriptions, the pharmacy does not price the medication. The drug manufacturers set a price and then the pharmacies submit a price to the third parties, the third party determines how much they are paying the pharmacy and the amount the patient will pay. It wouldn’t matter if the prescriptions were filled in Bismarck, Fargo, Minneapolis or anywhere in the country, it is going to be the same price.

In my current pharmacy (Northbrook Drug), and according to statistics from other pharmacies, over 92% of the prescriptions are priced by third parties. Much of the remaining 8% are drugs not covered under an individuals plan, such as birth control pills or exclusions on the Medicare part D plans. The pharmacist is the last person the patient interacts with in this chain of events, and also the one to ask for money, therefore they are being unduly blamed for the price of prescriptions.

I did a statistical analysis with the prescriptions filled in a local pharmacy. I used the data from January 2009 and counted all the prescriptions that are on the Wal-Mart $4 list. These prescriptions added up to 2% of the total sales for the entire month. In other words, 98% of our sales did not fall on that list. The average price for the prescriptions for these patients was $6.17. This price is slightly higher than usual because many patients had to pay towards their deductible since it is the beginning of the year. The drugs on this list are not the prescriptions that people cannot afford. Wal-Mart has taken the lowest 2% of prescription sales and turned the profession of pharmacy into a loss leader. A loss leader occurs when a business sells a product under cost in order to draw you into the store.

The $4 prescription is not the problem, nor is it the answer. The attack should be at the drug manufacturers who spend hundreds of millions of dollars on consumer ads. The insurance industry is also responsible. The pharmacy benefit managers pocket an undisclosed amount of money in the form of rebates. The laws protect them from having to disclose how much they receive. There should be legislation aimed at the companies really responsible for the price of drugs. The high price of drugs is much more complicated than just asking for a $4 prescription and thinking that is going to solve all the problems.

I was disappointed in the picture that the Bismarck Tribune chose to headline “A tough bill to swallow” in the Wednesday, February 4^th edition. With all due respect to Maria Vasques, I can’t imagine with her disability that the state of North Dakota or Medicare part D is not paying for her prescriptions. With that being said, would you believe anything else this special interest group presents?

The Tribune editor believes the law should be changed because of “protectionism”. I only see this law as protecting your health, protecting your free choice (there are more pharmacies per capita in North Dakota than any other state), and protecting you from a corporate office in another state deciding your pharmaceutical needs.

I urge you to keep an open mind and listen to the real facts presented by professionals who have always had your best interest in mind. Don’t let sensational pictures or your emotions about the high cost of drugs make a design that could irrevocably change a system that works for North Dakota. Please remember, 98% of a pharmacy’s sales is not on “the list.”

“As a North Dakota citizen, I ask you to vote in support of keeping the pharmacy-ownership law that requires pharmacies to have pharmacists as their majority owners.

          Repealing the North Dakota pharmacy-ownership law will allow corporate “giants” to add a pharmacy to their stores in our state. This will likely mean the loss of some of the existing pharmacist-owned drugstores who are now operating on very slim budgets. Shane Wendel, New Rockford pharmacist, said a 15% decline in prescriptions would wipe out his business.

          The closing of a pharmacy will have a devastating effect on any small rural community. Existing pharmacies are operated by both professional pharmacists and non-professional staff. Many of these individuals play important leadership roles in schools, churches, and community organizations. The loss of this leadership and salaries, as well as the loss of resulting tax revenue, will surely have a negative impact on the economics of both the community and the state.

          Most importantly, the health and welfare of those in each North Dakota community and surrounding rural areas is of utmost concern. The loss of access to prescription drugs, as well as non-prescription and medicinal supplies creates difficult circumstances; ordering by mail or driving to pick up medicine involves greater expense as well as a loss of time.

          Locally-owned pharmacies are recognized as giving utmost concern and excellent care to community members who need medicine and information about illnesses. As a brittle diabetic, I have received this kind of help from the pharmacy staff at Corner Drug in Wahpeton for over 30 years. My illness has always been treated with great concern ad I have been given appropriate medical advice. If medicine was needed after store hours, a phone call brought the pharmacist back on-duty immediately!

          In closing, I commend the many pharmacists that live and work throughout our state for helping our citizens survive serious illnesses and maintain healthy lifestyles. Please vote in favor of keeping the pharmacy-ownership law that requires pharmacies have pharmacists as their majority owners.”

"I am 80 years old and have seen and heard a lot throughout my years. I really feel it is imperative to keep our pharmacies as they are in North Dakota. I would like to know how Wal-Mart can honestly say they are going to give $4.00 prescriptions when there is such a little window of $4.00 drugs.

We here in North Dakota are not that ignorant, if a deal sounds that good we know it probably isn’t. I visited my sister in Colorado, needed some meds, went to the drug store down there, and waited in line to give them my prescription and then waited another hour to get them. When I got back home I walked into my home down drug store in Minot and they greeted me, took my script and I was out the in my car again in 15 minutes.

Now that is what I’m talking about. People need to get their head out of the sand and wake up. North Dakota is a fine place to live and very self-sufficient. We are the only state that hasn’t been swallowed up by the hands of the big corporate world. We are much to smart for the fast talking lawyers and big corporate companies. As a representative of the state of North Dakota I certainly hope you read our letters and listen to the people’s concerns."

"After calling around and seeing first hand the difference in costs between ND and the many pharmacies near me in Minneapolis, I really believe it is in our best interests to keep this law for our state.  Thank you for the work you are doing."

“We’d have to drive 50 miles for one prescription…

We’re in a rural area and we only have one pharmacy. My daughter needs her medications and it’s convenient to get her prescriptions right here. Otherwise, we’ll be driving to Bismarck, which is 50 miles away, to pick up prescriptions and that’s not good either, because who will pay for that extra gas?”

“We can’t risk rural access…”

I would like to keep our current pharmacy ownership law in place.”

“We’d like to keep our pharmacy….

 I’m 80 years old now. We can do most of our doctor visits and get our prescriptions right here in town. That’s important when you have a prescription and you’re supposed to start taking the medicine right away. It would be pretty tough for us to get prescriptions drugs otherwise, so we hope to keep our pharmacy here.”

“We went a few years without a pharmacy here and it’s not good…

You couldn’t even buy wide gauze nearby. Now we have a very good pharmacy here and they take good care of us; They tell me what I need. I have special meds and I have to know what other medications I can take, even over-the-counter medicines, that won’t interfere. The pharmacists here help me with that. So please don’t change the legislation on pharmacy ownership.”

 “I had a patient who transferred all her prescriptions to a Wal-Mart because her physician told her prescriptions were much cheaper there. A few months after she transferred all her medications to Wal-Mart, this patient came in sheepishly one day. She lives two blocks from our pharmacy, needed a refill and didn’t have time to drive all the way to Wal-Mart. In typical North Dakota fashion, she apologized, saying we were closer and more convenient, but she also appreciated saving money. She also told us she usually waited more than hour to have prescriptions filled at Wal-Mart. And if she needed a printout of prescriptions for insurance purposes, Wal-Mart said it would take 20 – 30 minutes and suggested she ‘shop’ during that time.

“For continuity of care, we like to take care of all our patients’ prescriptions and other medications. I asked if I could evaluate her medications and the Wal-Mart prices. All told, we were able to save her $69.25 per month! Most of the savings were on brand-name medications. She transferred all her prescriptions back to us. She has access, prompt service and less expensive medications. We have a very happy customer.”