ALBANY –
Senator George Borrello and Assemblyman Andy Goodell have called on the state
and the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD)
to reconsider a decision to transfer institutional pharmacy services to an Ohio
company, at the expense of a New York State-based provider and its
subcontracted independent pharmacies across the state.
The decision
will mean the loss of $30 - $40 million annually in revenues for independent
pharmacies in the state, potentially causing the closure of many and shifting
those taxpayer dollars out of New York State and into Ohio.
“Now, more
than ever, the state should make it a priority to utilize New York State-based
companies and small businesses to deliver critical services. Yet, this decision
will achieve the opposite; it will actually take away business and revenue from
independent pharmacies who have been providing vitally needed services to facilities
in their areas for years. For many, it will result in the closure of their
pharmacies and job losses, which will have a ripple effect in their
communities,” Senator Borrello said.
In a letter
to Governor Cuomo, Senator Borrello pointed to an example of the devastating
consequences of the decision. An independent, MWBE-owned pharmacy in his
district has been providing subcontracted institutional pharmacy services to
DDSO (Developmental Disability Service Office) facilities and patients for
several years. The changeover means a dramatic loss of the pharmacy’s revenue
and will lead to layoffs.
Borrello and
Goodell also underscored that the change will mean a diminished level of
service for DDSO clients. The new pharmacy point of service is more than two
hours away from the communities to be served in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus
counties, which will mean longer wait times (and likely, higher costs) for
emergency medication deliveries. Specialized medical items, such as feeding
devices and formulas, will also no longer be easily available, as the
out-of-state provider does not supply these items.
“This
decision is also a bad one for the often medically fragile DDSO clients who
rely on the personalized and immediate service these independent pharmacies have
provided. Now, they will be at the mercy of an out-of-state provider whose
business model and service locations are ill-suited to their needs,” he added.
“The state
has an unfortunate track record of trying to cut costs through methods that
ultimately prove to be more costly, such as its ill-conceived effort to
centralize non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT), which was supposed to
save the state money. Instead, transportation brokers ended up substituting
public transit for single rider taxi services and costs skyrocketed by more
than 1000 percent in some regions. By all accounts, this provider change is
going down that same path,” said Senator Borrello. Assemblyman Goodell also noted that the Ohio
company has been the subject of several lawsuits, including a recent one
initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice. The DOJ has accused the pharmacy
of putting the safety of patients at risk by filling prescriptions that had
long expired or run out of refills. The allegation is the latest in a string of
legal problems for the company. It settled federal lawsuits in 2016 and 2018 to
resolve allegations of kickbacks. “The commitment of state funds to a
corporation with ethical failings is an abdication of the state’s fiduciary
duty to taxpayers. For these reasons and others, we are urging the state and
OPWDD to reexamine and reverse this short-sighted decision,” said Assemblyman
Goodell.
