OT Big increase in the number of drugstores
Is it just Baltimore or is it the whole country, or something in between that, 10 or 20 years ago, had a big increase in the number of drugstores?
All of a sudden they were building them everywhere. Tearing down other stores to build branches of national chains.
Did this happen where you are?
How many years ago?
Why? Does anyone know why?
It's not likely there were suddently so many more people getting medical care.
Baby boomers.
If you look closely, at the same time all the mom & pop pharmacies were closing up. They could not keep up with the evolving technology and ability of chains to buy cheap in volume.
Drugs aside, many could not afford the computers and links to the insurance companies, medicare, etc. Billing is more complicated than it was years ago. It takes a lot of equipment and costly programs to do all of that and if you amortize it over a large chain versus one store, it is much cheaper per unit.
Add in an aging population taking more drugs, the market is there to support it.
In addition to Walgreens and CVS most of the grocery stores here have a pharmacy. I use the one in Albertson's since I already do my grocery shopping there. I think the last independent drugstore became a sushi restaurant several years ago. I don't think I was ever in it. It was downtown and not convenient for me.
I hadn't been here long enough to know where the mom & pop ones were, but I guess so. Last summer one closed. It was in a very expensive n'hood and they delivered and maybe other stuff so I guess they were able to charge enough to keep going. i can't remember how old the owner, the son or grandson of the original owner, was.
Okay, you both said that and it makes sense.
One of my n'bors on Next Door seemed to think it was just our n'hood, and complained that there were so many and so many gas stations (but there are no more gas statinos than there ever were (those I can keep track of)) but I saw it throughout Baltimore. I'll tell 'em it's everywhere.
Sick people need their symptom-masking pharmaceuticals after eating a diet of GMO food grown in nutrient-depleted soil and marinated in glyphosate. The duped population says this is how we should feed and medicate the world.
How did man evolve without his daily dose of statin drugs?
Evolution doesn't "care" what happens after you've passed along your genes. There's insufficient evolutionary advantage to living once your children are self-sufficient.
Cindy Hamilton
Chances are your great grandparents had nothing but all natural foods and died in their 50s. Grandparents maybe made 60s.
Drugs are for pansies.
A real man can face dying young.
As Micky said. Die young. I work big p. They are laughing all the way. I know the numbers. Staggering.
...who ought to be smart enough to shop at the big boxes most of the time rather than pay drug store chains' jacked up prices...
To a large extent because "pharmacies" were allowed to open longer hours and on holidays because they were "essential" - and they started sellin non=pharmaceuticals (like food) in response to grocery stores and supermarkets selling THEIR products.
The drugstore has become the new "corner store" in North America.
They need to start selling gas to be a real "corner store."
:-)
Andy
True! If we want to expedite evolution, statins won't help. For that we need to spay/neuter democrats before they spawn.
My insurance co-pay is the same wherever I get a prescription filled.
Cindy Hamilton
Same with my insurance.
However some is not on the formulary and not covered by the insurance. Then it is time to shop around and look into the Good Rx web site. Sometimes the doctor can put in a special request to the insurance company and get the price lowered somewhat.
Sure, just like the lab would bill you. I had a blood test done and it is not covered by Medicare. The lab billed me for $70 but if covered, they would accept $12 from Medicare. Drugs have to be the same.
Where? Canada? In the vast majority of the US pharmacies could be open whenever they please. A few places might have blue laws that force them to close on Sunday or something, but why would govt want to tell pharmacies that they can't be open?
- and they started
That's true, they have more food and other stuff today than in days gone by.
There was a private drugstore here that advertised it would mark down the price of a presecription by the amount of the co-pay so that one didnt' have to pay even the co-pay.
Isn't that illegal or a violation of insurance rules, either for the pharmacist, the insured, or both?
The co-pay is meant to give a little discouragement from filling unnecessary prescriptions (or going to the doctor for no good reason). it's soemthing the insurance company wants you to have to pay, isn't it?
So I figured it was required too.
I actually knew the owner a little, he used to be a neighbor, but I didn't have the nerve to call him just to ask him this.
I had a back pain, saw an orthopedist, he probably mentioned ibuprofin or some thing. Second time I saw him, mentioned in passing that they really didnt' do anything, which I guess to most ears means I want something eles.
He gave me another prescription and after they filled it, even with insurance they wanted $100. I guess I could have cancelled it even then, but I bought it. It didnt' do much either. Later, anotehr doctor told me it was no stronger, just a little different.
Same orthopedist, end of second appointment, after the MRI pretty much finds nothing, tells me 10 pounds of fat is equivalent to 40 or 50 pounds of soemthing or other. Hadn't said a word about my being fat until I brought it up. Of course I knew being fat was hard on my back but I didn't know about 10 vs. 40 thing. He should have told me from the start. Did he think I didnt' know I was fat?
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