The Staten Island Advance reports that a New York City legislator has introduced something called the Community Pharmacy Preservation Act, which is designed to protect independent “mom and pop” pharmacies from the onslaught of major chain stores.
"Big chain pharmacies have invaded our neighborhoods like weeds, changing the fabric of our community and putting the mom-and-pop pharmacies out of business," Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Queens/Brooklyn) said in a statement. "We're going to give the neighborhood pharmacist a helping hand to compete with the big guys."
The goal of the legislation is to enable independent pharmacists to negotiate terms and conditions of insurance costs collectively. The move was precipitated by what Weiner said was the dramatic growth of chain drug stores in New York City during the past decade, often at the expense of the smaller retailers.
"Big chain pharmacies have invaded our neighborhoods like weeds, changing the fabric of our community and putting the mom-and-pop pharmacies out of business," Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Queens/Brooklyn) said in a statement. "We're going to give the neighborhood pharmacist a helping hand to compete with the big guys."
The goal of the legislation is to enable independent pharmacists to negotiate terms and conditions of insurance costs collectively. The move was precipitated by what Weiner said was the dramatic growth of chain drug stores in New York City during the past decade, often at the expense of the smaller retailers.
- KC's View:
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Welcome to America, Rep. Weiner…
That said, we suppose that anything serving to level the playing field is a good thing…especially since we had a long debate in this space just a few weeks ago about the power of a strong pharmacy operation. However, we would remind Rep. Weiner and his constituents that there is nothing in the Constitution guaranteeing small retailers a right to survive…and that just being small isn’t always enough. You also have to be willing to compete.
