Barry Baines

Yeah, and then, you know, if you have this horrendous medical debt because you never, you know, you didn't have health insurance to take care of things. I mean, it just... you know, snowballs. And then if you have death, then when you start to get, you know, wind up, you know, getting your feet on the ground and in a good way.

Yeah, and then, you know, if you have this horrendous medical debt because you never, you know, you didn't have health insurance to take care of things. I mean, it just... you know, snowballs. And then if you have death, then when you start to get, you know, wind up, you know, getting your feet on the ground and in a good way.

You know, doing that, then it hounds you if, let's say, you want to buy a house or you need credit for, you know, for getting a car. I mean, it just has all these ramifications that it's hard to connect all the dots. But it really, that medical catastrophe that could happen is one that could hound people for years and years and years. And again, that's why...

You know, doing that, then it hounds you if, let's say, you want to buy a house or you need credit for, you know, for getting a car. I mean, it just has all these ramifications that it's hard to connect all the dots. But it really, that medical catastrophe that could happen is one that could hound people for years and years and years. And again, that's why...

I'm a proponent that we should have at least a system where everybody can be covered to prevent that kind of thing. That's what I have to say about it. My heart goes out to you, Matthew, understanding of some of those really hard decisions. And it's not just for Matthew. There's lots and lots of people that have that. The other point is that in today's

I'm a proponent that we should have at least a system where everybody can be covered to prevent that kind of thing. That's what I have to say about it. My heart goes out to you, Matthew, understanding of some of those really hard decisions. And it's not just for Matthew. There's lots and lots of people that have that. The other point is that in today's

employment environment, people change jobs a lot. A lot. A lot. Like every, they say every year or two on average now, I think something like that. That's just a made up number. I don't know.

employment environment, people change jobs a lot. A lot. A lot. Like every, they say every year or two on average now, I think something like that. That's just a made up number. I don't know.

I think we were able to display the level of confusion that this creates for our communities. And I'd also getting some feedback from listening audience and questions that they have to help shape the next couple of shows that we have on this, because I think this is an important topic. And if we at Health Chatter can help to

I think we were able to display the level of confusion that this creates for our communities. And I'd also getting some feedback from listening audience and questions that they have to help shape the next couple of shows that we have on this, because I think this is an important topic. And if we at Health Chatter can help to

clarify and simplify things so that people understand their options better, I think then that we'd be doing a good thing. And I like to do good things for our community if I can. Amen.

clarify and simplify things so that people understand their options better, I think then that we'd be doing a good thing. And I like to do good things for our community if I can. Amen.

Okay, so I wanna start also with a little story. A friend of mine who is retired a number of years ago had a business where he basically serviced community pharmacies. And not so much from a drug perspective, but you go into the corner drug store, that's where you got your school supplies. Right. And you might have gotten an ice cream cone as well or, you know, a grilled cheese sandwich.

Okay, so I wanna start also with a little story. A friend of mine who is retired a number of years ago had a business where he basically serviced community pharmacies. And not so much from a drug perspective, but you go into the corner drug store, that's where you got your school supplies. Right. And you might have gotten an ice cream cone as well or, you know, a grilled cheese sandwich.

A root beer float. Iowa. And over the years, what he saw happening was the consolidation of a couple of very large pharmacy businesses that we all know who, you know, it's the CVS and Walgreens where You know, they're gigantic businesses. And just like in health care, where there's a lot of consolidation of, you know, of independent practices, the same thing seemed to be happening.

A root beer float. Iowa. And over the years, what he saw happening was the consolidation of a couple of very large pharmacy businesses that we all know who, you know, it's the CVS and Walgreens where You know, they're gigantic businesses. And just like in health care, where there's a lot of consolidation of, you know, of independent practices, the same thing seemed to be happening.

And, you know, if you had a corner drugstore on every five or ten blocks, once a larger pharmacy came in and took that over, it's eliminating the competition. You know, you don't need... one on every 10 blocks. You could just have one that service, you know, quote, services a larger area. But that's from the business perspective.

And, you know, if you had a corner drugstore on every five or ten blocks, once a larger pharmacy came in and took that over, it's eliminating the competition. You know, you don't need... one on every 10 blocks. You could just have one that service, you know, quote, services a larger area. But that's from the business perspective.

And I think my perspective on pharmacy deserts is that this consolidation resulted in community members typically having to travel farther and farther to get to a pharmacy, which becomes more and more of a hardship depending on your economic resources, depending on your transportation resources. And so I'm just wondering, Christian, from your perspective, how big a part that plays?

And I think my perspective on pharmacy deserts is that this consolidation resulted in community members typically having to travel farther and farther to get to a pharmacy, which becomes more and more of a hardship depending on your economic resources, depending on your transportation resources. And so I'm just wondering, Christian, from your perspective, how big a part that plays?