If you are on Tricare you will have to pay the full amount for your prescription and then complete paperwork to be reimbursed by your insurance if you get your prescription filled at Walgreens.
Really?
Yes.
Why snub the Vets?
It’s all about money.
This is one of the hidden costs of going to war and pretending we are not at war. We don’t ration. We don’t retool industry to win wars. We try to make them invisible to the general public.
Those who have loved ones in combat zones feel the impact of the war.
Those who lose loved ones feel the impact of the war.
Businesses, well it is business as usual. That means it is all about the bottom line.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think we need a law to compel Walgreens to respect those who provided them safe haven to pursue profit.
I don’t like laws that make us do things we should do out of honor or respect.
No laws, please.
But I won’t be shopping at Walgreens.
I will speak their language—the language of currency.
I once sent all my photo work to Walgreens. That’s over.
They occasionally have some vitamins on sale. You know, the buy one get one free or buy one get one half-off. They still make plenty of profit even during the sales.
No more vitamins from Walgreens.
I usually drop a couple hundred bucks a year on cold and flu medicines, ankle wraps, Band-Aids, and other similar items. Walmart also carries these. Come to think of it, so do many small town, mom and pop pharmacies that are struggling to get by. Perhaps this will work out well for them.
Will my lost revenue mean anything to Walgreen’s bottom line?
Probably not much.
If all the men and women in the armed forces, retirees, and their families decided not to patronize this establishment that would make some difference, but surely Walgreens has already factored this in and will make up the difference by sales to other customers.
If Americans as a whole decided that this was not acceptable, that would wake up the money changers at Walgreen’s headquarters.
The problem is that when the general public does not feel the impact of the nation at war, there is no appreciation for those in uniform. We clap at the airports when a serviceman gets off an airplane, but will we forgo the convenience of just dropping in for a couple items and continue filling the coffers of Walgreens executives?
We tell the young woman returning from overseas that we appreciate her service, but do we appreciated it enough to send Walgreens a message?
Sadly, most don’t.
That’s the cost of being at war and pretending you are not at war. You get to keep your comfort zone and don’t have to consider the consequences.
Walgreens can do what they want. They will just do it without my money.
That which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly.
Thomas Paine
