Heartland Pharmacy: TrumpRX Cost Too Much

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Missouri (KFVS) - A new federal initiative offering reduced prices on prescription medications aims to decrease expenses for consumers, yet one Heartland pharmacy claims that joining the program would be excessively costly.

The newly launched Trump RX online service seeks to provide reduced prices on numerous prescription medications, such as insulin and GLP-1 drugs.

However, these discounts result in a loss for pharmacies.

"It's truly unlikely that your small businesses, local independent pharmacies within your communities, will be able to handle it," Hillier stated.

Pharmacist Katrina Hillier from John’s Pharmacy mentioned that although she acknowledges the efforts of the Trump administration, the reimbursement rates do not cover the costs they incur when buying the medication.

If you can picture it, going to the grocery store and they covered the cost of milk, which is $5 per gallon, it would be similar to them charging you $3.50 as the customer," she explained. "When we handle those discount cards, we aren't even able to recover the cost of buying the medication and getting it into our pharmacy.

Trump RX discounts are available only if patients pay with cash. The program does not cover insurance, and expenses incurred are not applied toward deductibles.

Pharmacist Danielle McMurphy stated that the program could still benefit individuals without prescription insurance.

"I believe it's a significant benefit for patients who are uninsured, particularly those who pay out-of-pocket or are on costly medications," McMurphy stated.

Hillier mentioned that her pharmacy seeks other options when patients encounter expensive medication costs.

"So perhaps there's a medication in the same category that's somewhat less expensive or has a generic version we can suggest and discuss with the physician to switch the patient to a more cost-effective option," she said.

Although John’s Pharmacy does not offer the discounts, CVS Pharmacy has stated that its retail pharmacy chain will accept them.