10/29/2026
Today, our pharmacy wears black. 🖤😢
These maps show independent pharmacies lost across the country since 2018. Each pin represents a pharmacy that closed its doors, leaving patients and communities without a local place to turn for their medications and healthcare needs. 💔
But why are so many pharmacies closing?
Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) are middlemen that help manage prescription drug benefits for health insurance companies. They influence how pharmacies are paid for medications and which pharmacies patients can use.
When pharmacies are reimbursed too little to cover their costs and face unfair contract terms, staying open can become financially impossible. 😢
These closures aren't just numbers on a map. They mean longer drives to fill prescriptions, fewer healthcare options, and communities losing an essential resource.
And this map doesn't tell the whole story. It excludes chain pharmacies and closures from 2025 and 2026, meaning the full impact is even greater…
Today, we mourn the pharmacies that have closed and stand with the communities left behind. We believe patients deserve access to their local pharmacies, and independent pharmacies deserve fair treatment to continue serving them.
We mourn the closures. We stand for our patients. We fight for the future of independent pharmacy. 🖤
🗺️ Explore the map and learn more:
https://www.aacp.org/article/pharmacy-closures-us
