Pills at a pretty price

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Pharmacists Howard Brooker and Adam Shubbar were intrigued by an article in a trade magazine.
Brooker and Shubbar, Northeast natives now living in Montgomery County, read about a Louisiana company that sells prescription drugs without taking insurance.
The local men, who are full-time night-shift pharmacists at an area hospital, contacted Michael Hebert, who owns the business.
They liked what they heard enough to open their own shop on Sept. 1.
"When you take insurance out of the equation, it reduces overhead, and you can really reduce prices for medication," Brooker said.
Adams Discount Pharmacy is located in a 1,200-square-foot property at 241 Keswick Ave. in Glenside. Prices are quoted over the phone (215-572-1118).
The store is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and from 9 to 3 on Saturdays, but it remains a no-pressure hobby for the owners, who continue to work at the hospital.
Still, the businessmen expect the concept to flourish, leading to extended hours. Brooker calls it "revolutionary."
Right now, there are about a dozen such pharmacies in the United States, mostly in the South.
"This really is the future," he said.
Brooker grew up in Mayfair. Shubbar is a Holmesburg native. Both attended Abraham Lincoln High School and the Temple University School of Pharmacy.
In the decade since graduating from pharmacy school and before taking the job at the hospital, Brooker managed a Thrift Drug (now Eckerd) while Shubbar worked at CVS.
In their new venture, the men are targeting cost-conscious consumers, both insured and uninsured. Payment is made with cash, check or credit card.
The business owners estimate that customers can save 40 percent to 70 percent from chain pharmacies.
"They can save a lot of money," Shubbar said.
The pharmacists, who are licensed in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, see no shortage of potential customers. In Pennsylvania, there are 1.37 million uninsured people. The figure nationally is 45 million, which is 18 percent of the population. The numbers will grow, in their opinion. In fact, Shubbar’s mom Gilda was recently dropped by her insurance company and must pay out of pocket for prescription drugs.
Adams Pharmacy also is marketing itself to people who have insurance but are paying high co-pays.
The pharmacy carries vitamins and cough and cold products. It also sells medical supplies ranging from Band-Aids to wheelchairs.
The store is not for people looking to buy a candy bar, magazine or lottery ticket. Instead, it’s no frills. It has the look of a doctor’s office, with seven chairs and a table in a small waiting area.
Adams focuses on selling generic drugs (and some brand names) obtained through the cheapest distributors it can find. The savings are passed on to customers.
For example, the pharmacy will sell Fluoxetine, the generic drug for Prozac, for $39.99 for a 90-day supply. The cost is double at many chain pharmacies, according to Brooker and Shubbar. Also available is Mevacor, a generic that is one-third the price of the popular, yet expensive, cholesterol drug Lipitor.
It’s up to customers to pick their supply.
"The customer has the choice of a day supply up to a year," Shubbar said. "They don’t have to get thirty days because insurance says so."
Adams markets itself in the media and by giving brochures to doctors’ offices.
The shop is busy but should be busier, its owners say. They sense that many consumers are hesitant to change their routines of using their insurance to pay for prescriptions.
"What we’re doing is unique," Brooker said.
For Northeast folks who don’t feel like driving to Glenside, Adams offers an affordable mail delivery service for a dollar and change. Deliveries arrive the next day.
"A dollar twenty-nine is nothing for a ninety-day supply," Shubbar said.
At the same time, the pharmacists are more than willing to meet with customers over the counter. They field questions on, among other things, the upcoming Medicare prescription drug benefit program.
They examine each patient’s drug therapy.
"We’re flexible," Brooker said. "Everyone’s situation is unique."
Brooker and Shubbar believe that insurance companies will always provide hospitalization coverage, but expect consumers to bear out-of-pocket costs for trips to the doctor sometime in the future.
The two pharmacists expect competition in the Philadelphia-area market, and they have a response ready.
"Where were you before? You didn’t care before. We’re the original," Brooker said. ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com