The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Democratic National Alliance’s (DNA) leader yesterday revealed that his family’s pharmacy business had “lost all kinds of money” over the past two months because the National Prescription Drug Programme’s (NPDP) terms had been changed without warning.

Branville McCartney told Tribune Business that the Wilmac’s Pharmacy chain “hasn’t caught itself yet”, and asked the National Insurance Board (NIB): “How do you expect people to stay in business with this foolishness/”

Tribune Business exclusively revealed last month how the private Bahamian pharmaceutical industry was having to “eat a significant loss” on existing NPDP inventories after NIB - virtually overnight - changed the scheme’s pricing by up to 40 per cent.

Tribune Business sources in the industry, speaking on condition of anonymity, said then that the absence of planning and co-ordination meant they would have to sell existing, higher-priced drug inventories to consumers at the new, lower NIB prices.

As a result, both pharmacy wholesalers and retailers are having to absorb the losses incurred on existing inventories themselves, until they are exhausted NPDP customers.

Mr McCartney yesterday became the first industry participant to speak out publicly, revealing that Wilmac’s had “lost a tremendous amount” due to the sudden pricing and drug switch implemented by NIB.

The scheme, he added, had also switched from the use of branded drugs to generic products, seemingly in a bid to reduce costs.

However, Wilmac’s, like other pharmacies, was left with a huge volume of inventory acquired at the previously-permitted prices.

“You cannot charge the Plan and its participants what you paid for those drugs the day before [the switch],” Mr McCartney told Tribune Business.

“For instance, if you bought a drug for $10, but they changed the cost because they’re now using generic, they will say it’s now $5. You paid $10 for it, but when they changed it, you’ve got to now sell it for $5.”

Explaining the consequences for his family’s business, Mr McCartney added: “Last month and the month before last, we lost all kinds of money because we had already purchased these drugs, and then they went down on price.

“We lost tremendously. It’s a tremendous amount. We buy a huge amount of drugs for this NPDP programme, a tremendous amount is spent, and by then doing what they [NIB] did, we haven’t caught ourselves yet. It’s bad, it’s bad.”

Pharmaceutical industry executives had previously told Tribune Business that NIB should have co-ordinated the NPDP changes with the sector, so that existing inventory levels could be matched with the availability of new items.

“A transition should take place over a 30-day period where you wind down your inventory. It results in some level of out-of-stock, but this was never done, never entertained,” one executive, then speaking on condition of anonymity, said.

Mr McCartney yesterday said Wilmac’s Poinciana Drive store was among “the top three” purchasers of NPDP drugs nationwide, spending huge sums upfront to acquire the drugs required.

“We seldom break even. As a matter of fact, our accountant says we need to get rid of it [the NPDP]. I’m the only one not out on it,” Mr McCartney told Tribune Business.

Suggesting that his company, and the whole industry, had deserved better from NIB over the NPDP, the DNA leader said he was never informed of the changes in advance despite previously receiving communications on the scheme every week.

“One of my pharmacists in my business had to tell me,” he revealed. “I had to read about it in the newspapers. How do you expect people to stay in business and bear with that foolishness?”

Mr McCartney said pharmacies had already suffered a decrease in business due to the depressed economy and implementation of Value-Added Tax (VAT), a situation that had been exacerbated by the NPDP revisions.

“They turn around and do that,” he told Tribune Business. “That’s not fair. That’s not right. We carry this drug plan, but it’s not from a business point of view. It’s not a profitable business.

“We’ve got to come up with thousands of dollars every month, stock up this place upfront, and not make any money.

“When they switched, went down to half the price, we’re stuck with it. It’s been a tremendous loss for the last two months.”