How a small WV pharmacy helped expose a multimillion dollar shell game
For years, it's been a disturbing pattern: Smaller, regional pharmacies closing because they cannot compete against what's being called a "rigged" system. For decades, Lynne Fruth has worked as the president and CEO of Fruth Pharmacy. At their peak, the stores had more than 30 locations across the Tri-State. "If they didn't want to fill something because it was a loser, as we say, they would tell their patients, take it over to Fruth Pharmacy, because we understand that they're filling it,” she said. But keeping her customers came at a crushing cost. "And we did fill things for much longer at a loss than a lot of people did because it was the right thing to do,” Fruth said. “But then the economics of it come in, and you're like how do you buy a product for $100, when you're selling it for $50?" Prices weren't adding up. In fact, they realized their health plans were being billed thousands for a drug that an uninsured patient could wa...
