Work on the Hamilton County employee pharmacy is nearly complete, but critics still say it’s an affront to private businesses.
Rebecca Hunter, the county’s director of human resources, said the pharmacy definitely will be ready by Jan. 1. The pharmacy will be in the McDaniel Building on North Highland Park Avenue and managed by On-Site RX.
“We’re real close to finalizing the hours,” Hunter said. “There will be hours convenient for employees to be able to go sometimes before work and sometimes after work.”
Hunter said employees have called the human resources department to say they are happy about being able to buy cheaper prescriptions. The pharmacy is only available to county employees and their families and county retirees.
Hunter and the county anticipate pharmacy users will save $2.3 million over the next three years.
But Fred Ross, owner of Ross Pharmacy, which is less than a mile from the county’s site, said his views haven’t changed, even though the pharmacy is projected to save taxpayers money.
“They could’ve looked at other methods of doing that by utilizing the people they were taxing,” he said. “I’m a taxpayer; it doesn’t save me any money.”
Commissioner Warren Mackey said he is “not happy” about the pharmacy and plans to monitor it closely.
“The decisions we make, they’re not simplistic,” Mackey said. “They have two sides to them. On the one hand, yeah, I want to save county employees money. But what troubles me is when government competes against private industry.”
Commissioner Greg Beck, however, has changed his views on the pharmacy. While Beck at first worried about the impact of the pharmacy on businesses like Ross’ when the commission approved the idea in July, he now says he has no concerns about it.
“I think it’s going to be a great thing for county employees,” he said.
Contact staff writer Dan Whisenhunt at dwhisenhunt@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6481. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DWhisenhunt.