WPBN: According to the Alabama Pharmacy Association’s public data, hundreds of pharmacies have shuttered throughout Alabama in the past six years.
According to Pharmacist Mike Pruitt, “It’s an unfair reimbursement for us and an unfair business model in healthcare if we can’t make the same money as the national chain.”
Over the course of his 30-year career, Pruitt’s work as a pharmacist has become increasingly challenging. Compared to chain pharmacies, his individual pharmacy receives a lower reimbursement rate.
He shared the $85 discrepancy in a diabetes medication’s payment on social media.
Companies known as “Pharmacy Benefit Managers,” or PBMs, negotiate rebates from drug makers to insurers, which significantly influences the prices that consumers pay for medications and the income that pharmacies receive.
PBMs contend that by negotiating with drug manufacturers, they contribute to the reduction of drug prices.
“PBM’s have to be held accountable,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama stated. “Pharmacies all over the country are having to pay rebates are having to pay higher prices and they’re losing money because these PBM’s, the middlemen so to speak, are making most of the money, that’s got to be corrected.”
Pruitt, who runs Gilchrist Pharmacy, is the most acutely aware. He witnessed the 2008 closure of the biggest pharmacy in the city and the 2013 closure of another small store.
“We are the last independent pharmacy in Hartselle. We provide services no other pharmacy provides. We provide compounding services, delivery services and packaging services for patients who have trouble with compliance with their medications. If we do not remain in business healthcare will suffer in this area,” Pruitt stated.
According to Pruitt, the loss of those programs can leave a significant gap, particularly for people with lower incomes. 20 pharmacies have closed statewide so far in 2024.
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In order to prevent even more pharmacies from closing in the upcoming year, Pruitt needs authorities to act.
