New Report: Independent Drugstores Thrive in Economic Recession

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Pharmaceutical Care Management Association

Sep 08, 2011, 01:48 ET

PCMA: Soaring Revenues and Expansion Show Special Legislative Protections for Independent Drugstores Are Unnecessary

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the country's economic recovery continues to lag, independent drugstores are expanding according to new research from the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS). The report finds that 517 new drugstores have opened in the last two years while revenues increased by $1.1 billion last year alone.

"This new drugstore research runs counter to claims being made by independent drugstores that special legislative protections are needed to rescue them from dire economic straits," said Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) Assistant Vice President of Strategic Communications Charles Cote. "As a successful industry, independent drugstores need to stop raising prescription drug prices for consumers and employers and instead offer a new, solution-oriented agenda."

As policymakers seek solutions to lower health spending, the independent drugstore lobby is pushing new laws that will help them raise prescription drug costs. These include:

Banning discounts that encourage employees to get their long-term prescriptions by mail;
Banning aggressive audits of drugstores with suspicious billing practices;
Banning prescription drug plans that automatically deliver refills to employees;
Requiring prescription drug plans to include every drugstore in their coverage network; and
Granting independent drugstores unprecedented anti-trust exemptions.

PCMA represents the nation's pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which improve affordability and quality of care through the use of electronic prescribing (e-prescribing), generic alternatives, mail-service pharmacies, and other innovative tools for 200-plus million Americans.

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SOURCE Pharmaceutical Care Management Association