COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – Local pharmacies like GoldStar Pharmacy in College Station are prepping for an increase in price for generic prescription medications.
“The raw materials will start to cost a little bit more and so that is most likely to affect the cost of prescription drugs. Now, it may not affect branded medications as much as generic medications, but the fact that 90% of medications dispensed in the US are generics, and those tariffs are more likely to affect generic drugs,” explained Dr. Bessem Oben, director of clinical services at GoldStar.
Texas A&M economics expert Dennis Jansen explained how tariffs are, essentially, a sales tax.
“A tariff is a tax and it’s a specific tax on goods that we import into the country. It’s like a sales tax, but it applies just to goods that we bring in. So, not goods we make here,” he shared.
Dr. Oben said branded medications may not be impacted as much as generic prescriptions medicines.
“The branded drugs may be able to absorb some of those tariffs because they do have a bit of a margin to work within, and the generic drugs whose manufacturers have a thinner margin may be forced to pass on some of these higher costs to the consumers,” she furthered.
KBTX spoke with a few GoldStar Pharmacy patients who said they were not concerned about the potential price increase.
“I think, long term, the benefits of this would be that we are just better off as a country as far as making our own pharmaceuticals and not having them imported as far as other kinds as well. I’m hoping that a lot of this will be temporary price hikes and then we get back on our feet and manufacture here in this country,” shared Debra Ellis of College Station.
Other customers wanted to give the tariffs time.
“It doesn’t happen overnight. You got to give it six months to a year, and if after six months to a year we’re not in better shape with the countries trading with us, then I’d say we have a problem. But right now, things have to happen,” Janet Ogle added.
Dr. Oben advised clients worried about their medicine costs increasing, to reach out to their pharmacist and ask about less costly alternatives to their current prescriptions.
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