News
from the fight to #SaveIndiePharmacy
New York Times’ The Middlemen series
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.
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.
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.
Why community pharmacies are closing – and what to do if your neighborhood location shutters
Not long ago, Walgreens, one of the nation’s biggest pharmacy chains, announced plans to close 1,200 stores over the next three years. That’s part of a larger trend that has seen nearly 7,000 pharmacy locations close since 2019, with more expected in the coming years.
Healthcare insurance companies blamed for 'pharmacy deserts' in Minnesota
Pharmacy benefit managers are being blamed for "pharmacy deserts" being left across Minnesota as inflating drug costs squeeze out small-town pharmacies. This local news story features our friend and fellow pharmacy advocate, Deborah Keaveny, RPh of Keaveny Drug (Winsted, MN)!
Pa. pharmacists say they’re receiving less money for drugs dispensed to Medicaid patients
Pennsylvania DHS says it will try to compel the insurance companies to reverse course, even though violated state contracts requiring that changes to pharmacy reimbursement rates be cleared with DHS first.
Walgreens Says It Will Close 1,200 Stores
The pharmacy giant said it would close the stores over the next three years and plans to “redeploy” the majority of the workers at the closed stores.
Senator Wiener Responds to Governor’s Veto of Pharmacy Benefit Manager Bill
California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation to rein in anticompetitive practices pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are using to drive up prescription drug prices and forcing independent pharmacies out of business. As a result, California remains one of the only states to leave the industry, which controls virtually all prescription drugs on the market, essentially unregulated. As a result, Californians will continue to pay more for health care and will continue to have limited access to their neighborhood pharmacies.
FTC head Lina Khan fighting Big Tech, Big Pharma and Big Groceries as trustbuster
FTC Chair Lena Khan was featured on a segment of 60 Minutes this past Sunday. The youngest-ever chair of the Federal Trade Commission sat down with Lesley Stahl to discuss how corporate consolidation and anti-competitive business practices are driving up prices throughout the U.S. economy.
Cub in Brooklyn Park to close in November
Another Twin Cities pharmacy closes. The supermarket in the Starlite Center at 7555 W. Broadway is anticipated to shut down for good on November 16, according to a spokesperson for UNFI Retail, Cub’s parent company.
Press Conference on PBM Abuse & H.R.9096 The Pharmacists Fight Back Act
Representatives Jake Auchincloss (D - MA) and Diana Harshbarger (R - TN) hold a press conference on PBM abuses, the destruction it causes to patients and pharmacies, and how The Pharmacists Fight Back Act H.R.9096 will stop it!
Rally outside Optum HQ brings debate over pharmacy benefits managers to Twin Cities
Patients, providers, and legislators gathered to allege biggest players are ballooning drug costs while running independent pharmacies out of business; Optum denied claims.
Senator Wiener’s Landmark Prescription Drug Prices Bill Heads to the Governor
The landmark piece of legislation would have enacted the nation’s strongest regulations to rein in exploitative behavior by pharmacy benefit managers, also known as PBM abuse. The bill passed with bipartisan support in the state legislature only to be vetoed by California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Why Walgreens And CVS Are Shutting Down Thousands Of Stores
In its fiscal third-quarter report, Walgreens announced its plans to close a ‘significant’ amount of stores, acknowledging only 75% of its 8,600 stores were profitable. While no specific stores were tapped for closure yet, more than 2,000 locations could face the chopping block by 2027. This just the latest sign of trouble for the struggling retail pharmacy sector as CVS and Rite Aid both announced large closures in the past year. Watch the video to learn why U.S. pharmacy chains are fighting for survival.
The Opaque Industry Secretly Inflating Prices for Prescription Drugs
Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) are driving up drug costs for millions of people, employers and the government.
The second in “THE MIDDLEMEN” series of articles by reporters Rebecca Robins and Reed Abelson investigating PBMs.
Nearly 400 independent pharmacies have closed in Minnesota since 1996. Why?
The financial woes impacting independent pharmacies have been in the making for decades. The core issue: inadequate reimbursements from pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, which manage prescription drug benefits and claims between health insurance plans and pharmacies.
Drugmakers including Purdue Pharma paid pharmacy benefit managers not to restrict painkiller prescriptions, a New York Times investigation found.