Three Independent Pharmacy Owners in Ontario running for PC's - Why?

News Flash

"Frustrated by cuts to pharmacy funding, three pharmacists are running as Ontario PC Party candidates in this fall's provincial election. Meet one nominee: Jeff Yurek, a second generation pharmacist and co-owner of Yurek Pharmacy in St. Thomas. Yurek is campaigning with a key message: Enough is enough with the cuts."

Why is the PC government in Newfoundland and Labrador adopting a failed Liberal policy in Ontario - while the PC's in Ontario believe it is a failed policy?

Something is up - and it will hurt Newfoundland and Labrador.




What is Kennedy Hiding? Quite a bit!

Catering to the big guys - that is what Ministers Jerome Kennedy and Tom Marshall are doing. They are running with the flow of central Canada and attempting to adopt a failed health-care policy.

Minister Marshall - almost gushing at the announcement of a rebate on oil costs for the vulnerable in our society. Should we do this? Absolutely - as an established democratic - socially conscious province - we don't do enough.

Here's the problem - Minister Marshall is not taking on the oil companies and asking them to lower prices in Newfoundland and Labrador to match other provinces in the country - no he will not go after the astronomical profits of big oil. Then there is food - the province/taxpayers pay so much in each and every income assistance cheque to pay for nutrition for the vulnerable in our society. Minister Marshall however will NOT ask that the giant food retailers like Sobeys and Dominion cut their rebates - or go to their suppliers and products and say we want you to lower the price of food coming into our province to equal other provinces in Canada.

The only thing that Minister Marshall is willing to do is go after the livelihood and viability of rural independent pharmacies. This is an absolute kick at rural communities and local businesses. This is a disgrace.

So what if the province used food cards as they use drug cards for those receiving assistance? Would Sobeys and Dominion put in place the technology to accept theses cards and then wait for 2 weeks to get paid? Would they help the person fill out forms monthly to keep their food card? Would they allow dietitians employed by the province to set a price they could charge for food? Would they let their competitors decide? Would they accept and do whatever the government says when it says regarding a food card? NO

Perhaps the government should try this - they don't need a drug card just as they feel they do not need a food card - they should simply provide funds to the person to pick up their prescription drugs. Perhaps they should ask the large food retailers to install a system to keep track of what people are eating and then provide that information to a nutritionist to determine if more money is needed for a family on assistance to achieve a balanced and nutritious diet. We must all remember that the best chance for good health relies heavily on ones diet and access to healthy meals. If this were achieved the government would see a significant reduction in costs to the drug program. People would be healthier.

Now the real issue - the ONLY thing in this province which is going down is the price of generic prescription drugs. Over the past 5 years it has gone down year over year and that will continue. Can we say the same for electricity, oil/gas, and food? Why then is the government focusing on the price of generic drugs?

On the other side of the spectrum - the price of brand name drugs is going up year over year. These prices are set by a federal body and the provinces are doing nothing to change this policy. They are also doing nothing on a proposed EU trade agreement that would see an increased patent protection for these pharmaceutical giants. Once again the government of Newfoundland and Labrador is not telling the people the truth - they are not telling the people that the price of patented drugs will stay high for an additional 3 or 4 years from their inaction.

Why would the government of this province allow this to happen? It affects everybody - it drives prices up for everybody! The only reason possible for such a regressive policy to get the thumbs up from Marshall and Kennedy is because the feds are holding them hostage on something they want. We all know what that is.

One has to ask why these Ministers are showing such utter disrespect to these local business owners and disregard for the health-care services of rural communities? That is a very important and yet unanswered question.

Government Protects the Profits of Oil Companies, Sobeys and Loblaws while attacking Rural Independent Pharmacies

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador provides income assistance to those most vulnerable in our society.

The monies given to these individuals or families are to meet the daily necessities of life.

They include electricity, heating oil, food, and medications.

In the case of electricity the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is not seeking to lower rates for consumers by asking Fortis to reduce its profits. Fortis is regulated by the public utilities board and that body regulates the rates for consumers. When Fortis wants to increase rates it can as a business appear before the PUB and ask for an increase based on the cost of doing business and a rate of return or profit.

In the case of food the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is not seeking to reduce the price of food - despite the need of many families to achieve a balanced diet on insufficient funds. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is not demanding that Sobeys and Dominion lower prices for the public - particularly the most financially challenged so that consumers can get the same cost for food in Newfoundland and Labrador as the consumer can get in other provinces. The government is not asking Sobeys or Dominion to reduce their rebates by lowering the price of food.

In the case of oil and gas the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is not seeking to lower the price of these heating essentials despite the astronomical profits of these oil companies.

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is going after local independent rural and inner-city pharmacies. They are going after Newfoundland and Labrador businesses - while walking very carefully around retail and commodity giants.

The Minister of Finance, Tom Marshall announced proudly how government and taxpayers are subsidizing heating bills for those most vulnerable. Yes that should be done - but who should be taking the hit - the taxpayers or the oil companies? Why doesn't the government demand that oil companies lower the price to equal every other province in Canada? Why should Newfoundlanders and Labradorians pay more? Well if the same Minister would have you believe that we should be paying the same as any other province in Canada for prescription drugs - then certainly the same should be true for all essentials of life that the more vulnerable in our society have to pay for.

Supermarkets receive rebates for the products they stock and the shelf space they are on. This should now be stopped - and all the value of those rebates should be used to lower prices. In this way all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians can pay the same price for food here as any other province in Canada.

Then there are Cable TV, Telephone, and Internet services. Why should anybody in Newfoundland and Labrador have to pay anything more for these essential services - than anywhere else in Canada?

Now the real kicker, the government is going after the only thing that is going DOWN in price - generic drugs. Yes that is true - over the past five years they have gone down between 15 to 20 per cent. They will go down even further through the natural competition between generic drug companies.

Further - pharmacies have taken significant decreases already to their revenue stream. Several years ago a thirty day supply was the maximum volume of prescription which could be filled. That changed to a ninety day supply - meaning the pharmacy was losing two-thirds of its revenue stream from its dispensing fee. People saved significantly on their costs as did government (or so they thought). That policy was enacted to satisfy chain drugstores and their insatiable need to wipe out competition.

The truth is the economics have not been completed on this and what many private insurers as well as the government are seeing is that significant dollars may have been lost in this exercise. A very good example - as I am sure many readers can relate to - is getting a first time prescription for a new chronic illness. As you are released from hospital and given a 90 day supply - chances are your prescription may have to be changed several times during that period. So the government or the insurance companies will have avoided three seven dollar dispensing fees but they will have thrown away 500 dollar's worth of drugs.

The CICPO has made recommendations to government to deal with this issue. We have suggested that the expenses be studied so the taxpayer, those with private insurance, and cash paying customers may save significant dollars by adopting a different approach. The government ignored that; yet they say government is looking to save money.

More to come!

The Council of Independent Community Pharmacy Owners launch Blog

The Council of Independent Community Pharmacy Owners welcomes readers - particularly Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to our new blog.

The blog will supplement the information available on the public air-ways and any written material you have seen in your community.

The government has and is threatening the viability of independent pharmacies. The proposed changes will cause service reduction or closure of pharmacies in rural communities and inner-city neighbourhoods.

Ministers and MHA's under the Dunderdale administration have continued to mislead the public with inaccurate information. This blog will address the statements made by them and correct the misinformation by providing facts.

Please visit regularly to get updates and to participate by asking questions and making comments.

Please visit our online petition site HERE

The blog will provide transcripts of what Ministers and PC MHA's have said on talk shows and then will provide the corrections as necessary,

This is an important issue for you, your family and your community.

We look forward to your questions and answers.