Lawmakers are trying again to let Wisconsinites buy $4 medicines

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Some state lawmakers are trying again to let Wisconsinites buy those $4 medicines they see advertised by national chains like Walmart and Target.

Wisconsin’s minimum mark-up law does not allow the big stores to sell their drugs that low.

And a new proposal at the Capitol would create an exemption for those medicines, a bill that didn’t get off the ground two years ago.

Smaller, stand-alone pharmacies are concerned about a loss of business.

Lynne Dittman, who heads the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin, says some people might end up buying their medications from more than one store, thus making it impossible for pharmacists to safely advise them.

Dittman says a patient might end up in the hospital because of a problem with drug therapy and that $4 prescription could result in an expensive visit to the emergency room.

But John Hendrick of the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups says seniors who buy their drugs out of pocket need a break on their prices.

He says he understands the need to protect the small shops, but not by forcing low-income seniors to pay higher drug prices.

Shawn Johnson

Tags: $4 medicines, wisconsin, capitol