H.3348 is yet another bill regulating pharmacies filed by pharmacist Kit Spires. The bill would require any pharmacy located outside of South Carolina that engages in the “manufacture, production, sale, distribution, possession, or dispensing of prescription drugs or devices” in South Carolina to obtain a permit from the South Carolina Board of Pharmacy. This permit process would require out of state pharmacies to: designate an official representative (which would require a good deal of paperwork), consent to South Carolina Board of Pharmacy inspections, and pay special out of state permit fees.
This entire bill is little more than thinly designed economic protectionism. The goal here is simple increase domestic pharmacy profits at the expense of pharmacies based out of state. If passed this bill will have negative effects for out of state pharmacies and for consumers who will suffer from restricted choices and the higher prices that inevitably accompany lower levels of competition.