Ted Wooster, for 12 years a pharmacist at Waltz Pharmacy on Friendship Street, said the closure of that store is an indication of a national health care crisis.
A Nov. 5 press release from Waltz’s Business Manager Susan Blake said the company will close the Waldoboro store’s doors permanently on Sat., Nov. 17.
Wooster serves on the Waldoboro Board of Selectmen. Speaking before the start of the board’s Nov. 13 meeting, he said he wanted the general population to understand the stresses on the health care system.
“It’s incredibly important to understand the consequences of cutting back on profit margins on Medicaid,” Wooster said. He said few people pay their own bills and that leads to a failure, on the part of customers and medical practitioners, to fully comprehend the impact of reduced reimbursements to pharmacies from both public and private insurers.
Wooster said he supports a national health care system for all Americans, but that there are serious problems that must be solved before such a program can run smoothly.
“National health care would end the excuse of people saying they can’t work because they would lose (Medicaid) coverage,” he said. “I think it would be a revolution.”
“We’re spending $420 billion to $440 billion, just on the overhead of insurance companies, without providing any health care at all. That’s real money.”
“As more and more is paid by insurance companies, people lose perspective.” Wooster said physicians often do not know the cost of the medications and treatments they prescribe and that advertisers target doctors to get them to prescribe expensive drugs.
Spear said he has received many calls from concerned citizens and that his office is taking those concerns very seriously. He said Najpauer has been talking to financial institutions to see if they can help with the situation.
