Two weeks ago, the IT ran this story reporting how pharmacists are upset about the County distributing a medical savings card.
The following day: the IT ran this story giving figures about how much people in other counties saved and about what a great program the County says that it is.
Last night, a representative from the local pharmacists left a comment on Bob Carruth’s post for earlier this week.
The questions I have are as follows: What’s the big deal? How does this discount card work? Does the County distribute other discount cards?
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27 responses so far ↓
1 Brian Freeman // Mar 26, 2008 at 11:08 am
The county signed an exclusive contract with CVS/Caremark to allow them to pass out their cards to residents. CVS/Caremark was very clever to solicit the help of NACo to get their cards out with such a powerful endorsement as County Governments. CVS/Caremark uses government buildings and employees to pass out the card and then sets back in New Hampshire and collects up to a $1.20/rx transaction fee everytime the card is used. 2 key points-CVS/Caremark pays the pharmacy nothing and if they get a rebate from a manufacturer for promoting a drug, they keep 100% of that. CVS/Caremark just settled a $50 million dollar lawsuit for overcharging Medicaid for prescriptions. It was a landmark case because they paid the pharmacies $5.60 for a heartburn rx and then billed medicaid $75. The difference is the spread. Between the spread and transaction fees, they had a very nice unregulated business.
There are other discount cards, so the county showed preference to one company over the others. Now, per the contract, no other cards can be offered. There will be no way to regulate CVS/Caremark from uping the transaction fees. They will use the enrollment information to send patients letters and coupons to use a CVS pharmacy or mail order. The Pharmacy owns the insurance company. What possible incentive do they have to look out for the independent pharmacies in Cabarrus County? They have the exclusive contract to distribute the cards using the government buildings and manpower. They have all the free PR possible, (watch 22 and you will see the ad 15 times), and they have pharmacies that accept the card.
The real question was whats the big deal? The government is passing out a private companies discount card thus promoting them over people that live and employee people here in Cabarrus County. This has had a significant impact on business. Not because the pharmacy losses on the cost of the Rx but in one day I filled 100 rx’s on the discount card which totaled $175 in transaction fees. That is the cost to cvs/caremark and it didn’t save any residents even 25 cents. The $175 got to come from somewhere.
Would the county endorse Cannon Pharmacy as the sole provider of pharmacy services in Cabarrus County? They would have no right to do so. Yet they made CVS/Caremark the sole provided of discount cards in Cabarrus County.
Lastly, This never even got a commissioner vote. Remember the county manager signed the contract and didn’t consult the commissioners. 2 commissioners understand it was not the role of local government to get involved in endorsing private companies. This was a huge program with lots of government agency employees working on this, not to get a vote. The county manager made the decision and the commissioners haven’t stepped up and said it wasn’t his place. Without a vote how can we know their positions and judge them accordingly?
CVS/Caremark has complete control of the pricing of prescriptions in cabarrus county now and the local pharmacies work for them. They tell us what to charge and then try to steal our customers to mail order or CVS. Sounds too dramatic, its not. That is exactly what the county did.
Brian Freeman
2 Steve Smith // Mar 26, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Brian Freeman
Where is all of your indignation when one comes into your store with an insurance card or a coupon for a free drug or when Wal-mart and Target started selling 300 drugs for $4.00 per month. The people who don’t have any drug coverage whatsoever need this card to help them with the cost of their drugs. If its killing your business then don’t accept the card and continue to sell your drugs at the going rate. The only people that will be using this card are the ones who don’t have any insurance coverage, medicare or medcaid. I don’t hear you screaming when you get a medcaid card.
Since when has it been unamerican for a local government to assist its citizens when they need it. The price of prescription drugs has outpaced the cost of living by 200% in the past five years. I havn’t heard of any of the independent drug stores offering to assist the uninsured or the underinsured citizens of Cabarrus County. Mr.Freeman, if you can’t stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen, but don’t badmouth the County Commission for helping the least of its constituency “The Uninsured”. As for letting Commissioner Carruth know what I think about the drug card. I was one of many who asked him to get this card for us and it had nothing to do with politics. As a matter of fact, Cabarrus County was one of only a few Counties in North Carolina who did not offer this card to its Citizens. Why should we be discriminated against because we live in Cabarrus County? It sounds to me like you want the government to protect your business from the free market competition of CVS/Caremark. Again let me thank the County Commission especially Bob Carruth for making this drug discount card available to the uninsured citizens of this County.
3 Steve Smith // Mar 26, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Justin
If you want to find out about the Drug Discount Card then click here
http://www2.caremark.com/naco/
4 Aaron // Mar 26, 2008 at 2:18 pm
I’ll agree with both Steve and Brian on this one.
First: Steve is exactly right: It is not his fault or anyone elses fault that a huge conglomerate offers a discount that he cannot match. We live in a global economy and the giants like Wal-Mart and others can always undersell the little guy.
That’s not a bad thing if your a consumer. It’s also a fact of life if you’re a business man. God himself didn’t ordain or sanctify your business nor did he or anyone else guarantee your sucess.
But, Where Brian is right is that anyone with a functioning brainstem should’ve seen this coming. A government can’t be a government by, of and for the people if some folks are more highly esteemed than others.
Essentially, we as a county are offering free advertising and distribution of this discount card. We should be keeping the governments noses out of it all together. That being said, it’s not like any resident couldn’t have gotten their hands on this or a similar card.
There are ton’s of ad’s for these types of cards all over the internet…
5 Steve Smith // Mar 26, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Brian;
Here is a list of the medicines that Caremark sells through mail order. If you have any of them listed any cheaper, let me know and I will buy from you.
http://www.caremark.com/portal/asset/RxDirect_PriceList.pdf
6 Justin Thibault // Mar 26, 2008 at 9:42 pm
All - Great Comments
Brian - What are the consequences for your business NOT honoring the card that the County is endorsing?
7 Brian Freeman // Mar 26, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Justin,
Whether the card gives a discount or not is subject to debate but it clearly influences peoples shopping habits. When the county logo is the prominant feature of the card people trust it and would not trust our price if we refuse to accept it. that could influence the cash paying customers that account for around 20% of our business. I guess it could effect business 10% to the down side, honestly. Not life threatening, but I don’t believe we should have been put in that situation.
CVS/Caremark added the discount card to an existing contract that we could opt out of jan 08.
Let me just add that we are not afraid to compete just not being allowed to compete. Steve said we never complained when Wal-Mart did its $4 program and I wanted to respond. I did not complain because no business owner should complain publicly about a competitor lowering their prices in a free market. that is competition and thats what protects customers the most. this card eliminates competition making one card exclusive. When the federal gov’t started Part D, they first issued “discount cards” for one year until funding was available. republicans fought to get private industry involved and allow competition versus a gov’t run program. The result were many cards and they had to pay the pharmacies fairly or the “big guys” would have endorsed someone else. My point is, CVS/Caremark has no competition and therefore I don’t have something else to offer so they will tell us what to do. Someone like Walgreens or Rite-aid may stand up and not take it, but I know that us not taking it won’t even make a blimp on their radar. Customers will just go somewhere else because they will never be convinced that a Cabarrus County issued Discount card doesn’t save them money.
8 Steve Smith // Mar 27, 2008 at 10:31 am
Brian
The card saves me money on the drugs that I buy from them. Gemfibrozil 600MG 180 tablets at $39.00 and and Atenolol 50 MG 90 tablets at $9.00. The others I get from Wal-Mart at $4.00 for 30 tablets. For me it is the money because I don’t have insurance and live on a fixed income. As a matter of fact, Wal-Mart accepts this card and will give you the lower price of theirs or Caremark. Your’e right they don’t come out to my house but I don’t need that service. The discount is real. Believe me I have shopped around and this is the best deal that I’ve found. Like Aaron said, these cards are available everywhere on the internet but not everyone has the internet. Now they can go to any County Office and pick up a discount card that is a real discount. If you filled 100 precriptions with this card then what are you complaining about. Thats 100 prescriptions that you wouldn’t have before. Sounds like a pretty good deal for you too. I can’t understand your objection. I would use your service if you were the cheapest because for me it is the money. I can spend it for expensive drugs or for food or I can shop around and do both.
9 Justin Thibault // Mar 27, 2008 at 11:09 am
Brian - Let me start by saying that I’m not a lawyer nor have I had any legal training whatsoever. Not to get all “Erin Brockovitch” on you; but you may have an anti-trust case against CVS/Caremark. If they are truly limiting competition in a coercive way - then they could be in some real hot water.
As for the County offering these cards, from a philosophical point - I agree with you. However, health care - especially elder care - in this country is such a mess that people are asking for solutions wherever they can get them.
The free-market purist approach (ala “it’s all over the Internet”) is not satisfying to people, because - at the end of the day - people will die from being poor. I don’t know that - in 2008 - we want to live in a society where that’s true. Then again, do we want to live in a society where our health care comes from a handful of huge corporations or - worse yet - the government.
10 Aaron // Mar 27, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Allow me to say Amen to that Justin. It’s flat out ridiculous.
Also allow me to be a typical libertarian and blame the whole byzantine system of American Medicine on the government…
11 Brian Freeman // Mar 27, 2008 at 8:26 pm
How much do you pay for a MRI? Probably everbody has had one, but nobody knows the cost? The insurance pays the bill and the 90% of consumers have a copay. Until the consumer feels the impact of the cost of healthcare they will not make “wise” decisions with their money. Employers would be better served to fund the HSA accounts and let employees spend from that. Any extra they can keep. Then you will call 3 hospitals to see who is cheaper. Like Lasik surgery, people shop. They don’t shop for a MRI because its usually covered.
Steve,
I filled a 100 rx’s with the card but it wasn’t new business. I never said business wasn’t good, if that is the impression you have I apologize.
12 Aaron // Mar 27, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Also looks to me like Steve is one of those smart shoppers who checks around before he spends his money!
Brian is right on the money for most folks, especially the 20 somethings new to the corporate world with no children. An HSA is awesome and would probably be even better if the IRS would get their hands out of it and just let it keep accumulating tax free. Add to that a catastrophic health insurance policy that covers serious diseases and accidents and you’d have coverage that’s just as good and a hell of alot cheaper.
That being said, the current byzantine system of payment schedules will keep these things from catching on. It’s gonna take major reforms to fix it all. What’s the point of having an HSA and Catastrophic policy if you can just go to the ER and get treated and skip out on the check?
I’m starting to think that debtors prisons might not be such a bad idea afterall! (Joke)
13 Justin Thibault // Mar 27, 2008 at 10:58 pm
About the HSAs, um, yeah, sorta.
First off, most plans have different coverage in and out of network - so, my provider’s doing a lot of the shopping for me AND pushes a formulary where price is a big factor.
Second, I did the HSAs last year and I’m doing the gold-plated plan this year. All in all, I’m saving big bucks on the gold-plated plan. A lot of that has to do with a certain event on January this year. Also, the filing requirements were a pain in the rear with Turbotax.
I know this will cause the libertarians (and make-it-all-nonprofit liberals) to blow a gasket; but I like “The Healthcare Fix” plan described here
By the way, if you think the guy who came up with this is a pinko…he’s also a major advocate of the FairTax.
14 Aaron // Mar 28, 2008 at 11:32 am
I like his idea, I’d sign on to support it.
You’ll have to remember that I’m still a registered republican for a reason. There’s a little too much kookyness in the Libertarian Party for my tastes.
Most folks will take whatever works over whatever is best.
As for your “event” You’re exactly right. It’s the main reason I’m on the gold plated system here at work too. The kids have doctors appointments every other day. There’s just not enough cash to fund an HSA for all those visits.
Of course, it does have something to do with the utter non-sense of the way doctors offices price their services. Your gold plated insurance gets a discount because of the sheer size of your big corporation. I have never seen a “10% discount for cash payments” sign at any doctors office I’ve ever been to.
When I was a cop, my wife was un-insured because she had quit her job when my daughter was born and stayed out of work when my mother died to help me get through it all. given the 400 dollar per month cost to put her on the police department insurance I could do that and pay the mortgage so she was just out of luck. When she went to the ER for an acutal emergeny and it cost us 2400 dollars for a 4 hour visit and 2 x-rays.
When I complained the billing department told me flat out that I was being charged the most because I didn’t have insurance and the money for all the check skippers has to come from somewhere!
15 Steve Smith // Mar 30, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Brian
I saw your ad in the Sunday Cabarrus Neighbors and I must say that you are doing a really great job for your customers and I will use your service on my next refills even though they may be a little more expensive. I do want to support the small local businesses in Cabarrus County.
16 Mark Smith // Apr 1, 2008 at 10:17 am
A little late on the comment, but Aaron stated earlier, “I have never seen a “10% discount for cash payments” sign at any doctors office I’ve ever been to.”
A couple of years ago when I had no health insurance due to a job change (I willingly took the risk of not having health insurance), I had to visit the Urgent Care in Concord. Since I did not have health insurance, I got a 20% discount for paying cash. That was their policy at the time.
Since this is a free economy, don’t forget that cash is king. If you need treatment and don’t have insurance, work out deal with the doctor to get a discount. Most people want their money now and with less hassle.
A perfect example is my chiropractor. He gives me a discount because I am paying cash. We don’t worry about insurance or all that other junk. He gives me a discount and I pay him.
Lesson: Negotiate when it can be to your benefit.
17 Cabarrus Cheap Seats // Apr 1, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Question for the Candidates: Cabarrus County In A Flat World…
I’m actually moving some of the comments from a thread on an earlier post because they touch on something that nobody else is asking about; but all of the candidates should be talking about. Also, since all candidates and elected officials have …
18 Justin Thibault // Apr 1, 2008 at 1:13 pm
All - I tried to be as careful as I could with the “Commentecotomy” - but I moved some of the comments that were out-of-scope to a post on Cabarrus County in a Flat World post to get a little discussion from that thread.
Mark - Yeah, esp. dental. I noticed from a breakdown of my dental bill from 2007 that a procedure I had in January didn’t get completely paid for until July.
I can imagine that a savvy customer can get some deals paying cash.
19 Brian Freeman // Apr 2, 2008 at 1:32 am
Justin,
the vibe your getting from me is wrong. We can do what the chains do and we do it better. In fact, I am glad there is a wal-mart and cvs to upset so many customers and then we get the chance to make them happy. Our staff is eager to see a wal-mart bottle or walgreens. It is a gift, not a burden like they see us.
the only complaint is should government pass out a discount card to residents with no regulation,competition, or advice from local business. I called Congressman Hayes when Medicare D started and told him how seniors couldn’t get rx’s. He came by in less than 7 days and called insurances. He soon realized how the system was paralyzed by the mass enrollment. He saw the flaws. Yet our commissioners have yet to see the impact of their actions and until they really seem concerned, I will continue to hold them accountable.
Medicare D has been good for business, yet as a conservative, I disagree with it. again, I want to help every senior and especially those below the 150% poverty line. there are many ways to help people with prescriptions, but you guys probably don’t get it because you not 80. then you will see the value of our business.
Will the commissioners promote a gas, doctor, or starbucks discount card. How were we singled out? It was because of a prior contract with cvs/caremark that they manipulated and forced us to accept a discount card. Why does the county get all the good PR, CVS/caremark gets all the $$, and we got the shaft?
You maybe more interested in seeing this in action than the commissioners so why don’t you call me (704)965-0039 and comeby and get an idea of our business.
The chamber of commerce has been contacted and they contacted commissioner White. He said the lawyer was reviewing the case. I plan on going to the next meeting and making a statement about the progress of the lawyer’s review. they cards are still out and we plan to run some ads the indirectly address the issue of the discount card. then we want to get involved in the election of people that will come to our business after 30 emails, calls, and letters to see for themselves what is going on. Is our board lazy? Mrs. Mynatt called me, wrote me, met me, and that is what I thought would happen with all the commissioners. Mr. Carruth, please come by and you will be welcomed. You will see nothing like you ever saw at wal-mart. taking blood pressures, giving vacanations, medicare d interviews, our service is awesome.
20 Justin Thibault // Apr 2, 2008 at 8:23 am
Brian - By the way, I moved this from the “Flat World” discussion, because this comment was more germane to this thread.
I know that schools hand out discount cards all of the time for fundraisers when they are ostensibly publically-funded. Discounts are just advertisement. And, as a member of the State Employee’s Credit Union (I have in-laws that worked for the state) - I can tell you that certain businesses use ties with the government to compete in markets in ways that others might seem unfair and they use discounts (in the SECU’s case - favorable interest rates) to do it…making it political suicide for someone to try to apply some blanket “No Advertising from the Government” rule.
Nice try. I know that it wasn’t just Grace that wrote you.
This is an issue that requires some Solmonic wisdom. Do you make it easier for seniors who are dependent on government services, on fixed incomes, and who have a propensity to read papers and know where to vote in overwhelming numbers. Or, do you take care of the needs of a handful of local businesses that have what looks like a legitimate gripe?
It’s important to note here is that this did not come about as a decision from the BOC, but from the County Manager. It was brought to the BOC from the local pharmacies after the contract had been signed.
Let me ask this question - would you have an issue with the cards if they were exclusive?
21 Grace Mynatt // Apr 2, 2008 at 2:19 pm
I would like to address the three questions about the CVS/Caremark County prescription card posed by the first submitter: After a synopsis of the events, I will present the comments coming from our locally owned pharmacies. Then I will present my position about that aspect of the issue.
1.WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL? If you are someone who uses the card it can be a savings to you on your prescriptions. That is because CVS/Caremark, a huge pass-through agent (or PBM)for medical drugs has the clout to negotiate with the manufacturers for reduced prices on certain drugs, usually generics. This can then be passed on to the consumer when the prescription is filled.
On the surface this sounds like a winning situation. Why would anyone object?
My knowledge of the situation began with a letter, January the 28th, to the commissioners from Brian Freeman, owner of Cannon Pharmacy in Kannapolis. I called Joe Moose of Moose Pharmacy and he confirmed the comments of Mr. Freeman as accurate. This letter and the first notice to the Commissioners about the card prompted me to email John Day, the Commission and other county individuals requesting that we have the opportunity to hear about the cards, both the pros and the cons. I also asked that the distribution be delayed until we could have that public conversation. That did not happen.
In order to educate myself, I contacted the National Association of County Commisioners, the national Association of Community Pharmacists and I searched the web for news articles from other parts of the country.
Almost a month went by, when I asked John Day when we would discuss them. He stated that no other commissioners had expressed an interest, but he would check with them. I did not pursue it any further.
Around the first of March, new letters arrived from Mr. Freeman as well as other local pharmacists. I do not remember the details of how the meeting was arranged, but fully two months after the first letter, Mr. Freeman was allowed to address the commission at our March 10th work session. By that time 7 out of 8 locally owned pharmacies had joined together to object to the issuance of the cards.
What are the objections of the independent pharmacists?
They were not consulted by either the County nor CVS/Caremark about the card distribution until after the contract was reached with our County Manager.
22 Grace Mynatt // Apr 2, 2008 at 3:26 pm
I see that my comments were published on the site (scary that that can happen so easily) so I will finish.
My position: I firmly believe that if I, as a commissioner, have the ability to affect others through ordinances, fees, etc. I should hear from those people for their comments both before I change their situation , and after the fact to see how they were affected. I believe in MORE public input, not less.
How does the card work?
The card program costs the druggist through fees charged by CVS/Caremark every time the card is used. For example: If you walk into Cannon Pharmacy and want to fill a generic lipitor prescription and present the card, the pharmacist is required to run it through their computer system. The system will show both Cannon’s price and the Caremark discount price. The customer will always receive the lower price. However, CANNON’S price may have been LOWER all along, but now CANNON has to honor the card, charge his original lower price, AND PAY THE FEE which cuts further into its profit.
My position: This should be free competition, not coercive competition. Because the pharmacy can only refuse to participate with Caremark by also refusing to honor all Caremark insurance this is not a reasonable option for them to take.
Does the County distribute other cards? No. The contract specifically prevents some other company from providing a discount card with County sanction even if they were to come with a better program of savings.
My position: This should never have been approved by the County manager without consulting the Commission. As you see in the comments of others, it is the commissioner who is either receiving the credit or the blame, not the County manager.
This is not a government program in any way. It is not a mandate from either the federal or state government. There is absolutely no tax funding involved. The Caremark card should not receive government endorsement that other discount programs do not and cannot receive.
I want everyone to have access to the lowest prescription prices available. But I firmly believe this was not a program for the commission to be involved in. I represent both our citizens needing low prices and our local businesses trying to survive. Caremark, or any other drug distributor or pharmacy can distribute a discount card by mail or at their business and get the same results.
There are more details to this activitiy that I would be happy to share with anyone who contacts me, but as you can see, it took alot of space and time just to make these comments.
23 Justin Thibault // Apr 2, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Grace - Thanks for your comments and sorry about the frustration with the text editor.
24 Steven H Smith // Apr 3, 2008 at 6:16 pm
The question then becomes “Did the County Manager overstep his authority by approving the Drug Discount Card without consulting with the County Commission???” If he did, then punishment is in order. If he did not, then commendation is in order because it is clear that the greater number of Cabarrus County Residents are helped by access to the Drug Discount Card. One only has to look on the web site to see how many County Governments all over the United States and North Carolina have had the foresight to see that any way to help their Citizens save money on the price of Drugs is, in fact, a good thing. Mr. Freeman only has to tell the card holder that his price is cheaper than Caremarks price and sell the drug to them at the lower private sale price thereby avoiding the Caremark processing fee. If Mr Freeman wants to remain within the Caremark insurance system then he must abide by their rules. This is a business decision for him to make. Cabarrus County belongs to the National Association of Counties, they are the ones who endorse this drug card. We can op-in which is what the County Manager did. The question again becomes, Did the County Manager overstep his authority when he opted-in to the NACO Drug Discount Card on not???” This question must be answered by the County Commission. I don’t know if he did or not. I thanked Bob Carruth for enacting the Drug Discount Card because I had asked him to get it for us several months ago. I guess I should have thanked the County Manager as he, in fact, approved this program. I can tell you this much. The way that you come down on this and other senior programs that save the County Citizens money on drugs and other necessities of life will determine how I and other like minded senior citizens vote in the upcomming elections. Saving Seniors and others money on life saving drugs is an improtant thing to do. Thank GOD for the County Manager and the Commissioners who have courage to stand up and do the right thing.
25 Brian Freeman // Apr 3, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Steve,
where did you originally get your info about this card? I only ask because I want to know if we are making inroads to getting you to see it differently. It actually is in less than 30% of counties so you were not the minority without it. today, warfarin 5mg #90 31.92 with card, warfarin 5mg #90 21.89 at cannon pharmacy. Pt got drug for 21.89 so Cannon lost 1.25 in transaction fee. what did the card accomplish? what must I do to show you there is no discount on drugs. 20% of nothing is what. If CVS charges 42.00 then I guess the pt gets a discount but still pays 31.92. thats how discounts work. There are dirty secrets that cvs and walgreens use to make the discount look bigger and thus they say 70million saved. Healthcare always accepts less from insurance companies and tries to make it up on cash paying customers. It is illegal to bill a insurance company more than you would charge a cash customer, yet the opposite is the norm in healthcare. Bragging a little, we changed that we charge cash customers the same as medicaid would pay us. It gives every cash customer protection. you don’t need a discount card.
I want to get away from the argument over the card. can we discuss how it got implemented and commissioners basically ignored me for 2 months. I called John day and he said he had the flu and was gone and was out of the office until wed march 11. the card was released march 12.
Jay white has yet to contact me, he did call to confirm he got my letter, but we did not discuss the program. I never heard from him again.
Bob Carruth-ask some questions which showed he had alot to learn about our business before he could have made a fair opinion.
Joni Juba-had all the answeres and didn’t need to talk to me.
Commissioner Juba’s answer was either arrogance or ignorance? It wasn’t one you expect from a public servant that had never investigated the other side of the program.
What does the lawyer review now going on accomplish? did they agree if they can get out they will? or was it more nonsense to get me to leave. will they vote on the issue to leave if they can?
that is all we want. to see how they would vote now they understand the program better. Is it an issue for gov’t?
26 Justin Thibault // Apr 4, 2008 at 8:58 am
Brian -
Getting people to talk about what you want them to…vaya con Dios, bro.
Since we’re playing the argumentum ad populum game: how many counties in NC flat out rejected to distribute the cards?
Something political.
From a purely legal standpoint, your beef should be with Caremark. From what Grace said, they are probably being coercive. With my limited knowledge of anti-trust law, it sounds to me like they are swimming in dangerous waters. However, your lawyer probably won’t go after Caremark - because the County is an easier mark.
The County won’t pull the card… just read the comments from Steve Smith. Steve Smith is a member of the most reliable constituency in any election - Senior Citizens. And, I would guess, that, in addition to being reliable voters, seniors are pretty reliable customers of your services.
As for your comments about other commissioners - I don’t think it’s their place to understand the inner workings of all of the retail businesses in the County. However, I think some of them could be a little more responsive.
Grace took your pleas to heart, because she can relate to you as a fellow local retailer. I, too, see how you’re upset; but if you want to fight the good fight here - I don’t see where beating up on John Day and the commissioners is going to get you anywhere.
Here are two questions for you, Brian:
27 Steven H Smith // Apr 4, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Brian
I heard about the Drug Discount Card when Gaston County signed on for it about a year ago. WSOC TV carried the news story and I became interested in it, looked it up on the internet. According to their Web Site 56 of the 100 Counties in North Carolina have signed on to the card.
My Math says thats 56% of the Counties in North Carolina have signed on. I don’t know how many Counties have refused to sign on but my best guess, using Justin’s reasoning, would be “none”. Using you example, Warfarin 5 mg tab 90 days supply would be $12.00 using the discount card at Wal-Mart or Target. I know because I take this drug and pay $4.00 per month for it at Wal-Mart. The discount that I’m getting by using this Drug Discount Card is real. You don’t want to argue about the Drug Card but about the way you percieve that you have been treated by the County Commission. The County Commission/County Manager are just responding to the requests of their constituency when they signed on with this Drug Card. Your’e argument is with Caremark not with me or the County Commission/County Manager. The facts are that this card saves its user money and with the high cost of Prescription Drugs today we need all the help that we can get. The only people that are using this card are the uninsured. It says on the Web Site that the card cannot be used in conjunction with any insurance, Medicare or Medicaid. I don’t know anything about anti-trust law or about transaction fees charged by Caremark or even about what County Commissioners are suppost to do. But I do know when they do something that saves me money then I’m gonna be “singing their praises” so to speak and when you do something that saves me money then I’ll be shopping at your store. This appears to be “much to-d0 about nothing” . This is a win-win situation for everyone that I’ve talked with about it. Justin has asked some very good questions that you have yet to answer.
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