Recently, a news report shared a story about a pharmacist who saved two lives in one day. One was a patient in the drive-through who needed an Epipen. Later the same day, a patient collapsed in the bathroom that needed an emergency medication. The same pharmacist jumped into action and saved the patient's life. I've heard similar stories from other pharmacists during my time as an advocate.

What if the pharmacist wasn't there? The pharmacy shuttered and closed like so many have across America? Mail order pharmacy is not the answer to pharmacy closures. Local pharmacy access is necessary.

America must wake up to the critical role local pharmacies play in our healthcare system. They don’t just fill prescriptions. They save lives. And now, we must fight to save them.

Local pharmacies are disappearing at an alarming rate. That's not by accident, but by design. They are being crushed under intentionally unsustainable reimbursement rates set by their own competitors called Pharmacy Benefit Managers, or PBMs. These same PBMs then steer patients toward their own mail-order pharmacies, profiting while communities lose essential care.

The largest PBMs named Optum Rx, CVS Caremark, and Express Scripts, control the system. They dictate prices, restrict patient choice, and leave independent pharmacies to close their doors. The result? Patients suffer, pharmacists burn out, and healthcare deserts spread across the nation.

Only the PBMs and the insurance companies that own them are winning and are reaping billions in profit while everyone else pays the price.

This must stop. Pharmacy access is healthcare access. We must ensure that local pharmacies remain a protected, supported option in every patient’s coverage.

They are there when we need them. Now it’s time to be there for them and end the monopolized system that's hurting America.

Loretta Boesing, Patient Advocate

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