22 Iowa Pharmacies Have Closed in 2024 – Access to Pharmacy Care in Danger

• By: IPA
• On: 10/30/2024 13:08:49
• In: Press Releases
• Comments: 0

Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, are powerful, anti-competitive middlemen in the pharmacy supply chain, originally created to negotiate costs between pharmacies and health plans. Over the years, PBMs have been allowed to operate largely unregulated, with four PBMs dominating 70% of the prescription drug market.¹

PBMs control pharmacies and patients alike, driving up the cost of medications for their own financial gain. Their contracts often limit patient choice, requiring patients to use PBM-owned pharmacies. PBMs also use opaque reimbursement models, often reimbursing pharmacies less than the cost of a drug and the services provided to dispense it. As a result of these detrimental business practices, pharmacies in Iowa and across the country are forced to close.

In 2024 alone, 22 Iowa pharmacies have closed in both rural and urban communities, and nearly 2,300 pharmacies have closed across the U.S.² In the last ten years, 147 Iowa pharmacies have closed, creating pharmacy deserts and forcing patients to travel farther for care. This leads to missed patient touchpoints and routine healthcare services, including immunizations and chronic disease care, which can lead to worsened patient health.

When pharmacies close, Iowa communities are deeply impacted. The community loses an accessible healthcare provider, not only for prescription medications but also essential healthcare services. To keep pharmacists as trusted healthcare providers in local communities, PBM reform must occur now at the state and federal level. In 2025, this will be the primary focus of the Iowa Pharmacy Association's advocacy agenda.
 

1. https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/press-releases/new-ama-analysis-consolidation-pbm-markets
2. https://benjaminjolley.substack.com/p/2275-pharmacies-have-closed-so-far