Jefferson City News-Tribune: Neighborhood pharmacies

By Connie Farrow, Patients Come First Missouri Executive Director

Dear Editor,

Visiting a neighborhood pharmacy to pick up your medicine is becoming increasingly rare across Missouri, and it should concern all of us.

Various media reports have cited the loss of 100 independent pharmacies in Kansas City in the last 10 years, as well as 45,000 metro St. Louis residents living in a "pharmacy desert," described as an area without a pharmacy within a square mile radius or closer.

Jefferson City has been affected, too, with Whaley's Pharmacy closing its three locations in July 2023 after 80 years.

Many of our most vulnerable residents use community pharmacies because of the customer service, quality of care and extended assistance they provide. When these pharmacies close, we can see gaps in access to medicines and overall healthcare.

On Jan. 14, the FTC released its second interim staff report on the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) industry, which has morphed into giant, vertically integrated conglomerates that control drug coverage and the drug delivery chain. The FTC found the Big 3 PBMs – Caremark Rx, Express Scripts and OptumRx – reimbursed their affiliated pharmacies at a higher rate than they paid unaffiliated pharmacies on nearly every specialty generic drug examined.

According to the report, the Big 3 PBMs generated more than $7.3 billion in excess revenue by imposing markups of hundreds and thousands of percent on a wide range of lifesaving drugs for cancer, multiple sclerosis and other chronic illnesses between 2017 and 2022.

The status quo is unacceptable. Congress and states should consider reforms to increase transparency and ensure patients have access to affordable medicines and care they need in their community.

Read the op-ed in the Jefferson City News-Tribune.