VAN T. MITCHELL, Secretary of Health & Mental Hygiene
Office of Secretary
Department of Health & Mental Hygiene
Herbert R. O'Conor State Office Building
201 West Preston St.
Baltimore, MD 21201 - 2399
Dear Mr Mitchell,
I own pharmacies in Salisbury, Maryland and St Michaels, Maryland and participate in the Maryland Medicaid Health Choice program as a pharmacy provider. We are extremely sad and upset that the your agency is allowing United Healthcare to narrow their network to just a few pharmacies and no independents. It is just the latest blow to small pharmacies inflicted by large corporations and insurance companies that want to cut out competition.
Our pharmacies serve many United Healthcare MCO customers. We offer many more services to our customers that CVS, Wal Mart and Giant. They are free delivery, charge accounts, Medicine on Time and medication counseling. These services, which cost theses customers nothing, are vital to their being able to get their medications and be more healthy. These customers are the ones that can least afford to lose these extra services we provide.
Our free delivery is a service used by over half of our United Healthcare customers because many of them cannot get to the pharmacy for a variety of reasons. Many have no means of transportation, unreliable transportation and disabilities that limit their ability to get to the pharmacy. Some use the service to save money & gas for their own vehicles due to limited incomes.
We also offer charge accounts for customers with limited funds. This helps when they have limited incomes and cannot afford the copays for their prescriptions. We can bill them monthly so they can get medications through out the month and they can pay when their funds become available.
Another service we offer and is utilized by many of our MCO customers is Medicine on Time, which helps make medication administration easy. This service packages medications into multi dose blisters by the time of day. This eliminates the need to open multiple bottles of medication at different times of day. We provide this as a free service to all of our customers, including United Healthcare MCO customers.
Not only are you hurting and endangering the health of the United Healthcare MCO customers with this change, you are endangering my employees livelihood. My two pharmacies employ over 25 employees between the two locations. The employees are paid a living wage with benefits provided to full time workers. Their healthcare premiums are paid for in full by my company (they pay nothing for the employee and children) and we offer a traditional plan, not a high deductible plan. We as a company and individual employees are heavily involved in community. We sponsor community, charity and school events. Our incomes and profits stay in the communities where we work. Our families will be adversely impacted by this decision.
Your decision to allow this narrow, limited network is very shortsighted and sets a dangerous precedent. If allowed, we will have to consider layoffs and possible closure. I understand that healthcare dollars are scarce and states are trying to cut costs in many different ways. I don't know what has been promised by United Healthcare, but I'm sure its more smoke and mirrors than true savings. How many United Healthcare customers will be hospitalized, disabled or sadly die due to not being able to get to the pharmacy for their medication, not taking their medications correctly or not being able to afford their medications. While you may save a dime on one side, it will be more than made up for by increased hospitalizations and disease progression due to non adherence to medications.
I am asking you to please reconsider this decision. As a taxpayer, who helps to fund these programs, I'm offended that you would allow small locally based pharmacies to be cut out of providing services to theses customers. Please look at the impact on the United Healthcare MCO customers and on the pharmacies that will be affected.
Sincerely,
Craig Schury
Pemberton Pharmacy & Gift
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
7 comments:
I THINK OUR GOV. SHOULD STEP IN NOW AND TAKE CONTROL OF THIS.
"If you like your pharmacy, you can..."
Mr. Schury
Had the federal government not stuck its head into the health care business you would not be facing this problem. it is ironic that you want to blame the insurance company.
11:18 asking the Gov for help is the problem. we need to take the Gov out of the equation
Anon 11:59 even before the government stuck its head into healthcare - United Healthcare was impossible to work with. As an owner of medical provider, here in Salisbury, we had to give up contract with UHC years ago. The reimbursement was just too low. It hurt our business for a couple of years, but we were able to bounce back.
I blame the insurance company and the PBM . This revolves around people being able to choose the pharmacy they use. It also is a prime example of health care companies proposing savings that will never materialize by "limiting" a service benefit and restricting access to medication. Anyone who uses insurance should be concerned about this. It is just like mail order. many insurance companies boast major savings to insurance companies and patients. Yet the National Community Pharmacy Association studies prove the only savings are reaped by the PBMs and insurance carriers. Most people are not satisfied with Mail order service, or many chain pharmacy service.
OBAMA we need you!!!!!!!
11:18 I think we've had about all the government interference we can stomach. That's the problem!
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