In the last three years, around 90 independently owned pharmacies in Michigan have closed their doors, according to American Pharmacies, an advocacy group working on state policy reform on behalf of independent pharmacies.
The group says the rise in closures is creating pharmacy deserts, or areas in the state where people have less access to pharmaceutical services.
Michael Rodriguez is the executive vice president and general counsel of American Pharmacies. He said locals rely on independent pharmacies for "tailored" service that is specific to the needs of the surrounding community, something that a chain-pharmacy can't provide.
"We cannot have all of our population rely on a mail order pharmacy, calling 1-800 numbers and relying on a UPS delivery truck to get their medicine to them," Rodriguez said. "That is the most inefficient way to get healthcare and also ineffective way to get health care."
He said pharmacy deserts hit people with chronic conditions, seniors and those without reliable transportation the hardest.
Rodriguez said the reason independent pharmacies have been struggling so much is entirely due to restrictive corporate policies and practices.
Corporations like OptumRx, also known as pharmacy benefit managers, serve as middlemen between pharmacies, insurance companies and patients, dictate how much medicine costs and how much pharmacies are paid.
"These companies both control what your local pharmacy does, and compete with the local pharmacy," Rodriguez said. "So, there is every incentive, unfortunately, for these businesses to help themselves and not help their competitor pharmacies, and more unfortunately, not help their patients."
Independent pharmacies source their medication from PBMs, and when the medication is sold, the pharmacies are reimbursed by the corporations.
For years, he said, PBMs have increased the costs of medication while decreasing the financial cut independent pharmacies get from the sales.
"Pharmacies are paid almost pennies for most of the prescriptions that they dispense to their patient," Rodriguez said. "They get paid less than the amount of money it takes for the plastic container they deliver the medicine to their patient in.
"These pharmacies cannot survive and provide the level of care and service that patients deserve when they're under-reimbursed for the medicine that they're providing."
The issue is gaining attraction across the state. Local owners and advocates met with Michigan State Rep. Tom Kunse (R-Clare) Monday to share their stories and discuss ways to bring reform bills to Lansing.
Kunse told WCMU in an interview that he believes this is a bipartisan issue.
"If the level of service doesn't improve [and] if you're adding expense to my constituents' health care, I don't see how that's defensible," Kunse said.
Rodriguez said right now, they're focusing on getting the word out.
"These problems can be solved in Lansing," he said. "I think that's the next step, is we need to inform all the other policymakers in the state, tell them what these issues are, and advocate for meaningful change in the capitol."
