SAN ANTONIO – A small pharmacist is taking on some health care giants. He said certain health care plans are putting the squeeze on his business, costing him money and customers.
David Worsham does the normal things a pharmacist does. He counts pills and fills prescriptions. He also does things that and the not so normal, such as showing people how to protest.
Worsham said he’s fighting for his business to survive. He’s an independent pharmacist, and he has seen a number of health care providers call or send letters to his customers telling them they have to get prescriptions filled at bigger chain stores, pulling prescriptions and customers from pharmacies such as his.
"It's affecting our bottom line because we have less volume and consequently less profits," Worsham said.
The chain pharmacy requirement, which costs money and customers, is a national trend, but in Texas, some pharmacies, such as Broadway Pharmacy, are fighting back as part of the counter-offensive.
The state of Texas has what's called an "Any Willing Provider" law, meaning that if an independent pharmacy, such as Broadway Pharmacy, can offer the drug at the same cost as the chain stores, the consumer can use that store.
A sheet of paper Worsham hands out to customers lists phone numbers and facts.
"In most cases, they have been successful in staying with us, but there are some cases where that doesn't matter. They have to change and go to the chain store, and we lose the business," Worsham said.
"The independent pharmacist is competing on an un-leveled playing field with those big corporate entities that use scale and volume to their benefits," said David Gonzales, with the Texas Alliance of Independent Pharmacies.
Gonzales said even though there is a state law, there are also federal regulations that exempt health care companies from that state law. It’s a loophole that is funneling customers to chains, no matter how hard pharmacists like David Worsham fight.
"It's taking business away from us, and we're losing customers that we consider to be friends and family," Worsham said.
KSAT News reached out to the Texas Association of Health Plans and a national group called America’s Health Insurance Plans for their side of this story and never received a comment.
Whether you can use the state's “Any Willing Provider" law may ultimately have to do with who your employer is and who pays the bills. The best advice if you want to fight to go to the pharmacy of your choice is to call your health care provider.
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