Types of Available Oregon Pharmacy Financing

By Brad MacLiver
Authorship and profile at Google


There are a number of different options available for funding Oregon (OR) pharmacy franchises, specialty pharmacies, and traditional community drug stores.

SBA Financing for Pharmacy Business Loans

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) partially guarantees loans for pharmacy franchise lenders reducing the risk exposure for the lender. A loan program called 7(a) is a standard for funding pharmacy franchises. These loans can provide funds for pharmacy franchise entry fees, real estate where the pharmacy will be located, property improvements, working capital, and pharmacy related equipment.

Borrowers for the Oregon pharmacy franchise must be creditworthy, without any bankruptcies, have ample down payment, but there are variations here, and the business must be able to repay the loan from the cash flow of the Oregon pharmacy.

Terms can range from 5 to 20 years. Within SBA standards interest rates may be adjustable or fixed and will be negotiated by the lender dependent on the financial strength of the pharmacy transaction.

There are SBA fees for guaranteeing pharmacy business loans. These fees, which are paid to the government and not kept by the bank, can be rolled into the pharmacy financing.

Patriot Express Business Loan Program

This is another SBA loan program that can be used for Oregon pharmacy franchise business loans and is reserved for military veterans, active service members, their spouses, and survivors. The Department of Veterans Affairs would be involved in the pharmacy loan process.

Pharmacy funding from the Patriot Express program can furnish relatively fast approval times, may accept a smaller down payment from the borrower than traditional business loans, and lower credit scores may also be accepted. Patriot Express business loans provide opportunities for lower interest rate pharmacy business loans.

Funding for Pharmacists in OR Who Are Veterans

There are specific franchise loan programs available for honorably discharged veterans and these Vet programs can be considered for pharmacy franchise loans in Oregon.

Pharmacy Financing From the Franchisor

Financing a pharmacy franchisee is a usual topic in discussions with a pharmacy franchisor. Franchisors should be able to direct potential drug store franchisees toward funding programs that have previously been successful for their other pharmacy franchisees. Preferred lenders will already be familiar with the Oregon pharmacy franchisor and their systems.

Pharmacy franchisors may also provide some funding internally. Lower collateral will be offset by higher interest rates. This may help with qualifying for a pharmacy acquisition of a franchise in Oregon, but may hurt the franchisee’s long term cash flow. Due diligence of pharmacy franchisor funding should be completed before any final decisions are made.

Personal Assets Used in Pharmacy Finance

Not all prospective pharmacy franchise owners have enough cash on hand. Part of the drug store business financing may require the borrower to liquidate personal stocks, provide personal assets as collateral, refinance their home, or use their 401k to assist the lenders security for making the pharmacy business loan.

If the borrower still does not have enough personal assets then a family member or a friend may be required as a partner in the Oregon independently owned family drug store. Since the pharmacy partner’s cash and assets will also be at risk of loss, these partners may require some controlling interest in the drug store.

Retirement Accounts Used in OR Pharmacy Finance

Retirement Plans can be self-directed and used to invest into a drug store franchise. The retirement plan can purchase stock in the pharmacy franchise. This is similar to how the retirement plan currently may be investing in publicly traded stocks and mutual funds. Lower debt service and higher profit potential may result when incorporating this option that uses less external financing in funding the franchise.

There is a downside to this.  If the Oregon pharmacy crashes, the retirement fund will crash as well, which means that the method of providing less expensive financing for pharmacy must be weighed against the risk of failure.

There are various variables such as deferred taxes, early and/or improper distributions, and IRS involvement that mean funding a pharmacy transaction in Oregon with a retirement account should be handled by a company with expertise in this arena. Investors and pharmacists interested in using this structure for financing should research the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974.

Pharmacy Franchise Agreement Buyout Funding

It is crucial to know that pharmacy situations are changing and economic factors are a concern, the mail order pharmacy is growing, and market shares are shifting. All of these can have a negative impact on the cash flow of a pharmacy franchise. Drug store owners paying franchise royalty payments may not survive the tightening profit ratios. Due to this, these Oregon pharmacy franchises may only have the options of bankruptcy, or buying out the franchise agreement when allowable.

Buying out the franchisor allows the pharmacy to remove the franchisor from the equation. This in turn allows the pharmacy owner in Oregon more flexibility in their business decisions. The pharmacy franchisor sold the drug store franchise with expectations of earning income from the cash flow their pharmacy franchisees. Due to their long term plan, Franchisors may not be willing to allow the pharmacy franchisee to remove itself from the franchisor. However if a Franchise Agreement Buyout can be negotiated, the buy-out transaction can also be financed.

Unfortunately many banks don’t understand the dynamics of the OR pharmacy industry. This lack of pharmacy knowledge results in the banks looking at the funding request and all they see is a business that has very little collateral compared to amount of financing the pharmacy is requesting. To assist the successful funding process an Oregon pharmacy owner is advised to use a pharmacy industry specialist to capitalize on the funding opportunities that are available.

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340B Discount Programs for Oregon Pharmacies

By Brad MacLiver
Authorship and profile at Google


The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides a program for discounted prescription drugs to qualified Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSH), and other qualified entities. When these facilities don’t have their own pharmacies they are allowed to contract with a local OR pharmacy. The drug pricing program is often referred to as 340B, named after the section of the law that established the program.

       
Section 340B legislation was enacted to provide indigent and uninsured populations access to deeply discounted medications. Since the program was enacted to assist certain populations there are restrictions and regulations in how the program operates and who the medications can be dispensed to.

Pharmacies in Oregon can be contracted by a FQHC, or similar 340B qualified entity, to manage and dispense the medications. Patients from these entities provide additional traffic in the pharmacies allowing the pharmacies the opportunity for additional front end sales along with the Rx sales.

Oregon independent drug store owners participating in a 340B pharmacy program need to manage their business consistent with customary business practices. In the event of an audit the pharmacy should have dispensing and inventory records, billing statements, etc. Business records should show that drugs purchased by customers, under the 340B Drug Pricing Program, were not diverted to people who are not part of the program.

Along with the additional record keeping a pharmacy owner will need employees who understand the various state and federal rules and regulations, which govern the 340B program. The pharmacy will also need to have a location for the 340B inventory, which is separate from their normal inventory, or have a software management system to track the separate inventories.

A system of separating inventory is required because the drug inventory used for the 340B pharmacy program is owned by entity who contracted the pharmacy.  The 340B inventory is not “owned” by the pharmacy, so, for tax purposes, this inventory will be treated differently. The Oregon pharmacy generates income from dispensing fees they are paid instead of a mark-up or profit margin on the inventory.

Since customers who participate in a 340B program can purchase only the designated medications from a pharmacy contracted with a 340B entity, this permits an Oregon pharmacy to have a market niche. Contracted pharmacies servicing 340B customers benefit from additional customer traffic visiting the store.

Given the current economic situation and high unemployment, many people no longer have their insurance benefits. This will likely expand the need for 340B pharmacy programs and provide additional 340B customers to a participating pharmacy in Oregon.

However, when a pharmacy owner is weighing the potential benefits of a 340B program, they should also consider other aspects of their business and the current market conditions of the pharmacy industry. What are the pharmacy’s goals over the next couple years? A younger Oregon pharmacy owner with long term objectives can benefit for many years from the added customers. However, a pharmacy owner considering selling the business in the next couple years should be aware that acquisition values are based on the customer files, and many buyers are not currently willing to include 340B customer files in their offers. This results in a lower pharmacy business valuation and market price for the pharmacy despite the volume of business. Also, due to the current economic conditions there are some 340B customers who despite the deeply discounted prices, have chosen not to purchase medications. Pharmacy owners need to consider the added costs and time of 340B inventory and customer tracking and reporting, may not be offset by the fees received.

If an OR pharmacy owner is considering the benefits of participating in a 340B program, or is considering selling the pharmacy in the couple years, it is advisable to discuss the options with the pharmacy industry expert.

 

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