'Everybody will have a pharmacy': Pharmacists push back on CVS closure claims

As CVS Health argues that a Tennessee bill would close its pharmacies in the state, local pharmacists are pushing back on claims that patients and employees would be left high and dry. "Between all of the independent pharmacies, all of the grocery store pharmacies, other chains like Walgreens… everybody will have a pharmacy," said Blake Musick, pharmacist and chief executive officer of Life Well Pharmacy. "And most likely, they probably will like their new pharmacy better than they liked their old pharmacy." CVS says that a bill from state Sen. Bobby Harshbarger, R-Kingsport, would close 134 pharmacies and 25 MinuteClinic medical facilities. But Harshbarger and pharmacists continue to fight that narrative, claiming that the company would only have to reallocate how those businesses are owned. The legislation would require pharmacy benefit managers to divest ownership in pharmacies by December 2028. PBMs — which act as middlemen between pharmacies, insurance companies and drug manufacturers — have faced rising opposition nationwide for practices that prioritize profit and outsized market control. The PBM owned by CVS Health, for example, managed a third of all prescription drug claims in the U.S. in 2023. Even if CVS did close pharmacies, pharmacists have expressed confidence that other facilities would fill the gap. Musick, whose independent pharmacy operates in Johnson City, Bristol and Knoxville, said he's confirmed at least a dozen other pharmacies that are prepared to care for patients in the case of closures. Those independent facilities include Mooney's Pharmacy, Rowe's Pharmacy and H Johnson Pharmacy, among others. If pharmacies did close, he added, employees would have job opportunities elsewhere. "We would probably hire more pharmacists here, more techs," he said. "We probably honestly would open other pharmacies in areas where we aren't currently." Dr. James Griffith, owner of Griffith Family Pharmacy in Roane and Morgan counties, agreed that patient access and care could "be handled overnight." "If I have Jane Doe that comes into my pharmacy and she says 'Hey, I would love to get my prescriptions filled here,' that day we can have prescriptions in our store," he said. "It's not like there's a delay in care." While there could be a short interval where doctors and pharmacies would have to handle transfers, Griffith added, it "would be easily handled, because we do it every single day already." While Musick believes there does have to be some sort of drug cost management, he said PBM contracts often create situations where pharmacies have to dispense prescriptions for less their purchase cost. "It's not a good business model," he said. Audits from the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance have also found that PBMs like CVS reimburse their own pharmacies more than non-affiliated facilities, underpay pharmacies that qualify for certain fees and use pricing models that prioritize their profit. "PBMs kind of are a necessary thing, really," Musick said. "The problem a lot of times, I think, comes when the insurance company and the PBM and the pharmacy are all the same." CVS cites concern for patients, staff Nikki Starnes, Blountville native and district leader for CVS Health, said she has about 400 employees that work in her region of East Tennessee stores that are looking to lose their jobs if the bill passes. She's concerned for them and patients that she said would have their prescriptions disrupted. "Most of my team was born and raised in Northeast Tennessee or Southwest Virginia, and want to continue to take care of our patients and our neighbors as best as we can," she said. Amy Thibault, CVS executive director for corporate communications, added that while she's heard from lawmakers that Tennessee folks will buy and operate CVS pharmacies or assets, the company's experience in acquisition of other pharmacies makes that seem improbable. CVS bought a bulk of Rite Aid stores and prescription files when the company went bankrupt last year. "We certainly could divest," Thibault said. "The likelihood that there's going to be anybody who comes up forward and says 'I'm going to buy 134 CVS Pharmacy locations' is highly unlikely." In the immediate future, she added, CVS is still going to encourage patients to email or call their legislators. "Ultimately, we're going to do anything and everything we can to try to continue to operate in Tennessee," Thibault said. "We're committed to our patients and our colleagues there." The PBM bill will soon head to a full vote in the Tennessee Senate. It would then have to pass the House before reaching the governor's desk.