News
from the fight to #SaveIndiePharmacy
New York Times’ The Middlemen series
Proposed Legislation Could Address Pharmacy Closures, Save Medicaid $2 Billion Over 10 Years
Kaite Krell, MPH, discusses the critical role of independent pharmacies and how proposed legislation could address challenges with PBMs.
Filling a prescription in the Seattle area? Put on comfortable shoes and be ready to wait
Seattle’s downtown, which has seen six Bartell Drugs stores close since 2020, is one of the most noticeable areas in the Seattle area where easy access to a pharmacy has deteriorated. Plagued by broader industry woes, several drugstore chains, including Rite Aid, owner of Bartell Drugs, CVS and Walgreens closed stores across the nation and in Washington.
1 in 7 Americans in 'pharmacy deserts,' report says
More than 1,300 pharmacies have closed over the last five years
Rochester Pharmacist breaks down reasons for Minnesota's growing pharmacy deserts
The Minnesota Pharmacists Association (MPHA) held a legislative day in St. Paul, on March 5, according to Philip Hommerding, owner of Hunt's Silver Lake Drug Store, part of the purpose was to call attention to the state's growing pharmacy deserts.
UnitedHealth’s Optum to address pricing, access challenges for prescription drugs
The changes come as pharmacy benefit managers face scrutiny for how they require doctors and patients to seek its approval for certain treatments and drugs.
Minnesota can save Medicaid dollars — if we cut out the middlemen
The Connecticut model has saved money and improved care
Pharmacy Benefit Manager Reform Keeps Getting Scuttled, Despite Bipartisan Support
Despite bipartisan support, a last-ditch effort to pass a healthcare package that included pharmacy benefit manager reforms was scuttled last week. This marks the umpteenth time that lawmakers couldn’t cross the threshold to pass and enact changes to how PBMs do business.
New FTC chair gets an earful on PBM practices during pharmacy visit
Co-owner of Remington Drug Company in Remington, Va., Al Roberts, welcomed Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson for a pharmacy visit Friday to illustrate the challenges posed by pharmacy benefit managers and emphasize the significant role independent pharmacies play in their communities.
326 Pharmacies Have Closed Since Elon Musk Tanked PBM Reform
The American Economic Liberties Project today released new research showing that at least 326 U.S. pharmacies have closed since Dec. 19, 2024, when Congress abandoned bipartisan, bicameral PBM reforms after Musk claimed there was “too much pork.” Later tweeting, “What is a ‘pharmacy benefit manager.’
Walgreens is heading down a risky path
Walgreens has been attempting a financial turnaround for years, and now it says it’s found a new path to finish it. But if history is any guide, its path is more likely to lead to its eventual demise than long-term success.
There’s a pharmacy shortage in Minnesota
This past December the University of Minnesota’s College of Pharmacy, in collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), released a map showing census tracts in Minnesota that have either low or limited pharmacy access.
Senate Democrats to introduce PBM changes, health provisions dropped from December spending bill
Senate Democrats on Thursday are introducing as standalone legislation a package of health policies, including changes to the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) industry that was left out of December’s government spending bill.
Alarm Bells are Ringing: Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program Will Fail Without Changes
If CMS doesn’t reconsider its mandate, which forces independent pharmacies to go deep into a hole and lose money, many of them will close.
Walgreens’ breakup looms as $10 billion sale to go private is reportedly in the works
Drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. is closing in on a roughly $10 billion deal to sell itself to Sycamore Partners, a private-equity firm, which would then take Walgreens private and likely break it up, according to reports late Monday.
Trump administration cancels meeting on flu shots, fueling anti-vax concerns
The Trump administration has cancelled a meeting of scientific experts called to discuss next winter’s flu shots in a move that has underscored fears of emerging anti-vaccine polices under the new health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr.
Congress targets PBMs to curb drug prices, end spread pricing practices
The House is renewing a push to take on pharmacy benefit managers that play an important role in the cost of prescription drugs that has been heavily scrutinized by lawmakers amid industry consolidation and rising prices.
Sen. Grassley Opens Inquiry Into UnitedHealth’s Medicare Billing Practices
The Iowa Republican’s letter to the company cites findings from a series of Wall Street Journal articles.
UnitedHealth Group Is Being Investigated by the Department of Justice
UnitedHealth Group, the largest U.S. health insurer, is once again under federal scrutiny—this time for potentially fraudulent Medicare billing practices.
FTC case against Caremark, Express Scripts, Optum Rx can move forward, judge rules
A Missouri district court judge on Tuesday said stopping the FTC’s suit against the Big Three PBMs would be “against the public’s interest.”
Chairmen Guthrie and Carter Announce Subcommittee Hearing on Pharmacy Benefit Manager Practices
“As outlined in recent reports, significant consolidation in the PBM marketplace has led to fewer options for patients and employers and less competition to keep out-of-pocket drug costs in check,” said Chairmen Guthrie and Carter.
Drugmakers including Purdue Pharma paid pharmacy benefit managers not to restrict painkiller prescriptions, a New York Times investigation found.