Current Events > Big capitalist corporation loses some money, will close a store. Locals angry

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City Council Member Loren Taylor, whose district spreads through the flatlands of East Oakland, said he held meetings with Walgreens representatives in which they complained about the cost of rent, the number of thefts and what he saw as a more troubling point.

Taylor said he was told the business profits are limited in Oakland because so many customers are insured by Medicare and Medicaid, and the reimbursement rates for these programs are lower than those of private insurance providers.

Its essentially saying that the lower-income populations those who need health care the most are the exact reason why we are closing the store, Taylor said during the press conference, his voice rising. Because their support, their state-supported coverage, is a reason to close down and to move to higher-profit locations. That to me is unacceptable.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/amp/An-East-Oakland-Walgreens-last-stand-gets-16333902.php

Normally they can lose a lot of money through shoplifting but still make a f***ton more through the pharmacy to make staying open worthwhile.

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Walgreens too uppity for me. Fuck em

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So they just stay open and continue the decline forever? Wow,

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Tbh they're not running a charity. I can't blame them for not acting out of the goodness in their hearts.

Maybe the city can subsidize a pharmacy, or start one themselves?

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Apparently the way gov Healthcare works is, they see the cost and say "it's not worth that much, fuck you Walgreens" and just pay what they want to while legally requiring the service to still give the patient their treatment. Which means services get more money from private insurance because the private insurance will honor the sticker price easier.


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They should be forced to run their business there even if theyre taking a loss imo

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Sorta why we nationalize certain services that we deem important to serve all for the common good to get profits out of the equation. Government isn't a business, and that's a good thing sometimes.

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The city council recently cut the budget for 50 beat cops and 911 responders, not like the cops do anything about mindomeaners anymore anyway. Well, enjoy Libtopia.

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There's no possible way enough shoplifting occurs to actually make even a miniscule dent in their profits. Furthermore, shoplifting losses are already factored into their projections. It would actually be a national story if this store was getting stolen from enough to matter because it would literally be happening like 20 times an hour.

It's just something they say to lessen the blow from their actual reason, which is that Medicare ain't profitable enough. This actually happened to me as well with my doctor. I qualified for the state version of it once covid hit and I lost my job but he stopped accepting it after a few months. Said they were only paying like 1/3 of what private insurance did. So I went from a $20 copay with private insurance to a $100 flat charge because he said the checks they sent weren't big enough. I tried to negotiate and say I'd give him the same amount old insurance sent him but he bluntly told me that no, uninsured cost is $100. Really sucks.

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