Sometimes when I hand a patient a prescription she\u2019ll ask, \u201cWhere should I get this filled?\u201d \u201cPretty much anywhere except Walgreens,\u201d I answer, \u201cunless you actually enjoy long waits and, if you\u2019re taking a pain med, getting a humiliating third-degree runaround from the pharmacist. Me? I wouldn\u2019t buy a toothpick from the place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I usually get a surprised look in response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just about prices,\u201d I continue. \u201cIn fact, a recent survey of prescription prices conducted by Consumer Reports showed that CVS is pricier than Walgreen\u2019s. It\u2019s the unmitigated corporate cynicism of Walgreens that gets my goat. Don\u2019t get me started…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But now you\u2019ve got me started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m sure you heard about the Walgreens plan to move to Switzerland to save some serious big money on corporate taxes. You may also have read that last month they officially changed their minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you didn\u2019t know the precise number they were planning to save on taxes, it was just about $4 billion over the next five years. Of course, being a US-based company, with Americans being its primary customers, that $4 billion would have been your money in the pipe on its way to Swiss banks. The cash would have then been divvied up among Walgreens shareholders and \u00a0executives, which makes me wonder how much more than an annual salary of $13.7 million CEO Greg Wasson could actually want<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As this piece lays out<\/a>, $4 billion in lost taxes could fund:<\/p>\n\n\n\n But fearing \u201cconsumer backlash,\u201d which might have hurt corporate profits (and his annual bonus), CEO Wasson had a change of mind, though I\u2019m sure not a change of heart. Did you notice Wasson saying anything about $4 billion to Switzerland being \u201cmorally wrong\u201d? That\u2019s because, despite the Supreme Court decision to the contrary, corporations are not actually people with a sense of right and wrong. Corporate decisions are based on profit, period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every time I hear the jingle or see a sign with the Walgreens motto \u201cAt the Corner of Happy and Healthy,\u201d I visibly cringe. Talk about corporate cynicism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Several months ago, a couple dozen US attorneys general sent letters to the CEOs of America\u2019s biggest retailers urging them to stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products<\/a>. Although most of you smokers pick up your Marlboros at convenience stores and gas stations, 15% of cigarettes are sold through the drug and grocery chains. CVS responded rather quickly and next month will quit selling cigarettes. Other chains, like Safeway, Kroger, and Walmart, are in the \u201cconsidering\u201d stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Walgreen\u2019s simply declined to comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And this year, almost 500,000 Americans will die from smoking-related illness. \u201cHappy and healthy,\u201d my a–!<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2013, Walgreens badly botched its controlled-drug inventory system in Florida. They were socked with an $80 million fine<\/a> over federal charges that their ability to control the sales of narcotics at some stores was a failure. From that point forward, the company took a self-righteous stance, treating customers like drug dealers and doctors like suppliers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wrote an earlier Health Tip about a fax sent by Walgreens to primary care physicians informing them that pharmacists might be calling to discuss exactly why a pain med had been prescribed, how long the patient would be using it, and (get this) asking if we doctors were running urine drug tests on our patients to make certain the medication was being taken correctly and not shared with others. Here\u2019s a copy of the fax they sent.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhich brings us to tobacco<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Treating the customer as criminal<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n