GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A spokesperson for Rite Aid confirmed to FOX 17 Wednesday every location in Michigan will close by the end of September.
“We’re disappointed the same way that everybody else is," said Eric Roath, director of Government Affairs for the Michigan Pharmacists Association. “Patients with these closures are actually going to be losing their direct access to a healthcare consultation right there in their community.”
Roath said his organization's disappointment isn't directed at Rite Aid but, rather, at Pharmacy Benefit Managers, the entity that sits between the pharmacy and your health insurance.
“Pharmacy Benefit Managers do their best to squeeze profit margins out of pharmacies, taking more money from patients down the line and creating an environment where it is just not sustainable for pharmacies to stay in business," Roath said.
During a previous conversation with FOX 17 at the end of June, Roath said legislation was passed in 2022 to combat that trend called the Pharmacy Benefit Manager Licensure and Regulation Act. It went into effect Jan. 1, 2024, but Roath said the enforcement has been slow at best.
His sentiment was the same on Wednesday.
“Have the Department of Insurance and Financial Services respond to complaints against Pharmacy Benefit Managers in a timely manner. That currently is not happening and, quite frankly, the laws on the books are currently insufficient. More needs to be done to protect pharmacies and ultimately the patients we serve."
Rite Aid is not alone in its struggles.
CVS and Walgreens have already shut down hundreds of stores, with the latter promising to close a quarter of its nearly 9,000 countrywide locations by 2027.
RELATED: Walgreens taking hard look at underperforming stores
Roach said this will have far-reaching implications for an industry already struggling with a medication shortage.
“What you'll see is that inability to procure that medication compounded in terms of how problematic it is because now they have all these new patients that are increasing the demand at their new stores when they couldn't get the medication to fill for their current population," he said.
In Roath's eyes, not all patients need to hit the panic button, especially those who can smoothly transition to a different nearby pharmacy.
“That being said, we do have concerns for any patients that may not have another pharmacy solution ... in their area," he said. "So if that happens to be your case, I would recommend reaching out to your Rite Aid in particular and see what their recommendations are for continuing your prescription services.”
A high volume of prescription transfers usually leads to longer wait times so, Roath said, if you need to make a switch, you should do it sooner rather than later.
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