Austin prohibits Walgreens from refusing to fill prescriptions

The Houston Chronicle ^ | August 18, 2005 | Lisa Falkenburg

[HamiltonJay]

The measure, approved unanimously by the Austin City Council, requires Walgreens, the city's pharmaceutical contractor, to fill prescriptions for patients on Austin's medical assistance program "in-store, without discrimination or delay," even if an individual pharmacist declines to fill a prescription based on personal beliefs.

Attention Customers: As of today Walgreen's will no longer fills perscriptions for persons on Autin's Medical Assistance Program. Have a nice Day

[Clemenza]

My health insurance (Group Health) only covers medicine dispensed from their OWN pharmacy. They do not carry a certain medication that I need for my own health. As a result, I go over to Walgreens and pay out of pocket for the medication in question.

In a free society, they have a right to carry what they wish, we have the right to take our business elsewhere.

[1FreeAmerican]

A pharmacist's job is to fill a perscriptive ORDER from a DOCTOR. Their ethic's or personal beliefs are not a part of the perscription. If the pharmacy stocks the medication then the 'script should be filled. If the pharmacist owns the store then they could choose not to stock a paticular item.

[Modernman]

So you would have no problem with pharmicists refusing to dispense insulin medication, cholesterol meds, obesity meds etc?

No, I wouldn't. Would you have a problem with the Jewish deli owner down the street refusing to sell ham, or the Mormon supermarket owner refusing to sell alcohol and cigarettes?

[Modernman]

The measure, approved unanimously by the Austin City Council, requires Walgreens, the city's pharmaceutical contractor, to fill prescriptions for patients on Austin's medical assistance program "in-store, without discrimination or delay," even if an individual pharmacist declines to fill a prescription based on personal beliefs.

Good catch. This is the city demanding that Walgreens live up to its contractual obligations.

[Modernman]

Attention Customers: As of today Walgreen's will no longer fills perscriptions for persons on Autin's Medical Assistance Program. Have a nice Day

That would probably be a violation of their contract with Austin.

[trubluolyguy]

Solution?

Remove every Walgreens from the Austin city limits.

[kcvl]

Austin City Council

Mayor Will Wynn


Phone: (512) 974-2250
Fax: (512) 974-2337

Office Term: June 15, 2003, to June 15, 2006

Physical Address
City Hall
301 W. 2nd St. 2nd Floor
Austin, Texas 78701


http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/council/contacts.htm

[Always Right]

I'm not offering favorable odds of it remaining so contained. Nope, there is wide spread effort to do this. Shoot, the governor of Illinois just tried to do this by executive order for all pharmacies in the state, but I believe he found he overstep his authority.

[trubluolyguy]

You are so right. These PRIVATE companies should be FORCED to do the pro-abort lobbies bidding!

Pro-Life doctors should be FORCED to perform abortions! If they don't, take their license away!

(sarcasm off)

[kcvl]

Filling medications eis part of their job. If they don't like their job duties, then pick another profession!!!!!!!

They didn't give up their moral obligations just because they chose pharmacy as a profession. You obviously don't know much about their "job duties".

Maybe you should take care of YOUR PROBLEMS before you run out of birth control pills. You can take your business elsewhere.

[kcvl]

If the owner of a store refuses to stock a product, that's THEIR CHOICE. It doesn't matter if its a tavern owner refusing to stock Coors or a pharmacist refusing to stock the pill.

EXACTLY!

[kcvl]

"WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE SERVICE TO ANYONE"!

[kcvl]

A pharmacist's job is to fill a perscriptive ORDER from a DOCTOR.

And you are FREE to take that prescription to ANOTHER PHARMACY.

[HamiltonJay]

All Contracts have escape clauses.

[kcvl]

I guess NARAL's supporters are the ONLY people who get to CHOOSE. Everyone else is suppose to bow to their orders.

[Tall_Texan]

Walgreens' agreement with Austin, which begins Sept. 1, will affect more than 50,000 people using the city's health care clinics, including more than 8,000 families who use it for family planning, said Karen Gross, policy director for Austin City Council member Brewster McCracken, who sponsored the provision.

That's the "pro-business" (and pro-toll road) Brewster McCracken that conservatives were urged to back when he was running for his council seat. Reminds me of the Jennifer Kim thing where conservatives were told to back her even though I don't think she do anything conservatives will applaud.

Essentially, I consider Austin city government a lost cause and I'm not going to go out of my way for the equivalents of Jim Jeffords or Lincoln Chafee. They'll turn on us just as easily as the other libs will.

[jaj_dad]

A pharmacist's job is to fill a perscriptive ORDER from a DOCTOR.

And you are FREE to take that prescription to ANOTHER PHARMACY.

I'm a little confused; based on this "free market" analogy, then any hospital should be able to refuse treatment to anybody - after all, they can go to another hospital, can't they? Or, to extend the "Jewish Deli" analogy, they can refuse service to anyone wearing a burka - they can go to another deli, can't they?

Now, if a pharmacy does not stock a particular med, that's their choice, and the customer should never go there again for that prescription. But once they've chosen to keep it in stock, denying to dispense it based on "moral beliefs" is wrong (especially in this day of prescribing meds for side effects).

I especially like the post about condoms - should a cashier be allowed to refuse to ring up a box of condoms?

[longtermmemmory]

what if Walgreens refuses to stock my favorite brand of breath mints?

What the heck is "emergency" contraception? RU486?

[kcvl]

I'm a little confused; based on this "free market" analogy, then any hospital should be able to refuse treatment to anybody

Since when is a hospital a "free market". Many of them now are government subsidized. It's not the same as a private business which gets no government handouts (Thank God!).