Paul Khoury

Khoury Pharmacy shut down its Dupo location Nov. 12 after a reduction in Medicaid reimbursements wouldn’t allow it to keep operating in town.

To elaborate, pharmacy owner Paul Khoury said his pharmacy receives less in Medicaid reimbursements than he pays for Medicaid customers’ prescriptions.

“As you are well aware, big changes are occurring in the healthcare industry,” Khoury stated in a letter to customers. “These changes affect doctors, hospitals, nursing homes, EMT services, and, yes, even pharmacies.”

In May, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the state reduced Medicaid reimbursements to pharmacies by three percent across the board in 2012. Pharmacies also felt the effects when the state delayed Medicaid reimbursement payments until a stopgap budget was passed in July.

Wightman Pharmacy owner Steve Wightman said he also continues to see a decline in Medicaid reimbursements, but he said the clientele is different in Dupo. Wightman added that his pharmacy is not in danger of closing.

“The more folks you have on public aid, the more that’s going to affect the business,” he said of Medicaid customers.

Todd Evers, Evers Group of Pharmacies owner, operates Millstadt Pharmacy, which is not in danger of closing. Evers concurred with Wightman that reimbursements remain a problem area in the business, but that only a low percentage of Millstadt Pharmacy customers are on Medicaid.

“Instead of getting reimbursed the $100 it costs, we’re getting reimbursed $10,” Evers said as an example.

Keil Pharmacy in Red Bud will remain open as well, despite also being hurt by low Medicaid reimbursements.

Keil Pharmacy owner Zachary Rehmer said the pharmacy cannot give back to the community as much as Rehmer would like, and is having to be more selective in donating to organizations and benefits.

Another issue that impacted Khoury Pharmacy in Dupo is customers turning to mail order prescriptions. According to consumerreports.org, insurance companies encourage the use of the mail order services because customers can save on maintenance medications.

Some insurance companies also make mail order prescriptions mandatory. Insurance companies, reports indicate, also save money by providing mail order prescriptions.

“When the customers are mandated to go through mail order, local pharmacies and the community in general suffer,” Khoury said.

In contrast, customers given the choice between mail order prescriptions and refilling at a pharmacy seem to choose the ladder. Wightman said he sees this a lot in the community.

“A lot of people — thank goodness for us — don’t want to do (the mail order option),” Wightman said. “There’s still a lot of folks that want to support local businesses.”

And even though Khoury’s store in Dupo never recovered, he said the Columbia store will continue to provide services to both Columbia and Dupo residents without issue.

“Everything is fine here, and we will still service the good folks in Dupo,” he said.

In his letter, Khoury explained that any inventory at the Dupo location would be transferred to Columbia, including  customers’ prescription files, with no interruption in services. Khoury also said the pharmacy will make deliveries once a day to Dupo.

“We have been truly blessed these last five years by being able to serve you and your families,” the letter states.

The Columbia location is at 101 N. Main Street and the number is 281-7133. With a total of three employees at the Dupo location, one person will be employed part-time and one full-time at the Columbia location.