Nearly 30% of US drugstores closed in one decade, study shows

Nearly three out of 10 U.S. drugstores that were open during the previous decade had closed by 2021, new research shows. Some neighborhoods were most vulnerable to the retail pharmacy closures, which can chip away at already-limited care options in those communities, researchers said in a study published in Health Affairs. The trend has potentially gained momentum since the study's timeframe because many drugstores are still struggling. In the last few years, the major chains Walgreens and CVS have closed hundreds of additional stores, and Rite Aid has shrunk as it went through a bankruptcy reorganization. Drugstores have been dealing with shrinking reimbursement for prescriptions, rising costs and changing customer shopping habits. The chains have been closing money-losing stores and transferring prescription files to more profitable locations. The study found that more than 29% of the nearly 89,000 retail U.S. pharmacies that operated between 2010 and 2020 had closed by 2021. That amounts to more than 26,000 stores. Researchers using data from the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs found that the number of U.S. pharmacies had actually increased from 2010 to 2017 because of store openings, but the pace of closings picked up starting in 2018. Pharmacies in neighborhoods with higher rates of patients on government-funded Medicaid and Medicare also were at greater risk of closing, said Dima Qato, a University of Southern California pharmacy professor who was the study's lead author. Those programs tend to reimburse less than private health insurance. Researchers also noted that the exclusion of some pharmacies, particularly independent drugstores, from pharmacy benefit manager networks can hurt. That can mean fewer prescriptions and customers visiting those stores. This article was provided by The Associated Press.