I, for one, oppose this seeing on at least 2 occasions, I had pill mix-ups and was able to get them corrected in hours instead of days, which it would take an act of God to complete in a mail situation. I also have to pay out of pocket for all medications and at over $100 a pop for some prescriptions, I do NOT have the option of ‘eating’ medical mistakes.

ALBANY — Community pharmacies are hailing legislation that would bar insurers from requiring their participants to get long-term prescriptions by mail, but mail-order drug companies and insurers want the governor to veto it.
Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane, Niagara County, said he proposed the bill after hearing from constituents who are retirees and are more comfortable getting their prescriptions filled by neighborhood pharmacists.
“If you want to go down to the local drugstore and talk to the pharmacist who you’ve been dealing with for 25 years, you should be able to do that,” he said.
Maziarz said he hadn’t been expecting the storm of lobbying the bill sparked from opponents and supporters. His purpose in sponsoring it was to give people options, he said.
The Legislature hasn’t sent the bill over to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office yet. Maziarz said it has about a 50-50 chance of approval.

Less than a week ago, opponents got some help from the Federal Trade Commission’s Office of Policy Planning, Bureau of Competition and Bureau of Economics.
In a memo to Sen. James Seward, R-Milford, Otsego County, agency experts wrote that the bill would hinder competition between local and mail-order pharmacies and could lead to higher out-of-pocket costs or reduced drug benefits.
Seward was one of just four lawmakers to vote no on the bill.

The memo said it is understandable that some people may prefer to use a local pharmacy.
“We are concerned, however, that the bill impedes a fundamental prerequisite to consumer choice: healthy competition between retail and mail order pharmacies, which constrains costs and maximizes access to prescription drugs,” it said.
The Pharmacists Society of the State of New York believes the letter is a rehash of one from a few years ago against a transparency bill for pharmacy-benefit managers that the industry opposed and pharmacists backed, said Craig Burridge, executive director of the society.
The group doesn’t oppose mail-order prescriptions, but it should be up to the customer.
“The consumer should be able to get that drug at their local pharmacy,” he said.
Companies and groups against the legislation include Express Scripts, the National Federation of Independent Business New York chapter, the state Business Council, the New York Health Plan Association and others.
An opposition memo submitted on behalf of Express Scripts said the measure is “bad policy and ultimately the worst kind of protectionist legislation.”
The bill would permit any prescription covered by mail order to be filled at an in-network retail pharmacy, provided the pharmacy offers a “comparable” price. Comparable is an ambiguous term that could create confusion and conflict, according to Express Scripts.
Cost-containment strategies like mail-order drug programs should be encouraged, particularly at a time when there is an affordability crisis in the health care system, said Deborah Fasser, a spokeswoman for the New York State Conference of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans.
Burridge said people benefit from having face-to-face contact with pharmacists, who can immediately respond to questions and provide other drug information. Mailing prescriptions can expose medication to extremes of temperature and humidity that can damage drugs. It’s not unusual for patients’ medications to be changed before the 90-day supply is used, causing “tremendous waste,” he said.
There are no large mail-order pharmacies in New York, Burridge said. The number of jobs at independent and chain pharmacies has dropped by 12,000 in the past 2½ years, he said.
The state Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials, which wants the legislation, wrote in its memo that disadvantages of mail order include lack of immediate, face-to-face counseling; incomplete access to a patient’s drug history profile; and the time it takes to ship drugs.
Mail-order companies counter that they have 24-hour patient support.

Seward opposed the bill because he is concerned about the potential cost to businesses and the possibility it could ultimately reduce choice for consumers, spokesman Jeff Bishop said.
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