Under new and lower Medicare prices, more than half of independent pharmacies are subject to not keeping the first ten drugs once this program begins in 2026. About 9 in 10 pharmacies claim they will not distribute certain medicines anymore. These popular, targeted medications used to treat diabetes, heart disease, blood clots, and other essential health matters will seemingly no longer be available at the pharmacies they have always been at. Pharmacies say they are “strongly or somewhat considering” not distributing these drugs anymore, even though there are currently about 9 million senior citizens in the US who take at least one of those drugs and benefit from the lower prices they are used to.
The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), which is an advocacy organization that includes a long-term care (LTC) division raising awareness on the effect inflation has on access to drugs and services for pharmacies. The NCPA has made a statement on their recent survey conducted on the matter. It was reported that 51% of the respondents were “strongly considering not stocking the drugs” anymore because of the possible reimbursements from pharmacy benefit managers. Research further gathered that 40% of pharmacies were “somewhat considering” stopping their supply of the medications.
The American Society of Consultant Pharmacists CEO Chaz Worz said, “Our pharmacies are not going to carry or not buy things, but if those pharmacies go out of business, what fills the gap? Is there any pharmacy left to fill the gap? That’s more what we think about.” Further on the topic, the NCPA CEO also came up with a possible issue if this happens. He mentioned a scenario: “Many pharmacies will drop out of the Medicare Part D program, and patients will be stranded. Many others will close their doors permanently, leading to more consumers living in pharmacy deserts.” This fundamental issue occurring right now is a scary reality for those in need under Medicare. Worz continued by saying that this is influencing LTC as a whole, and if pharmacies close in rural areas where they are only available in the area, then they won’t have a possible solution.
Worz and others are trying to show policymakers the importance of these services for nursing homes and those in need. [“Pharmacy, as a whole, has been trained and pushed to think generics are the least expensive, and we want to try to promote those. The system has said you’re not going to make any money on generics, but that’s OK because you make money over on these branded medications,” Worz said. “Well, now you’re taking away the money you can make on the branded medications, and you’re just not leaving space for a pharmacy to survive.”] The health and safety of those on Medicare, in nursing homes, and those at health risks in general are in jeopardy. The possibility of this happening in small pharmacies could lead to more significant pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens, and this chain is detrimental to the pharmacy industry as a whole, mainly where these patients rely on their health needs.
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