Drug Stores & Pharmacies NAICS 456110

Jul 2, 2025 - Major Chain’s Bankruptcy Declaration Causes Industry Disruption

• Many consumers are having difficulty getting their prescriptions filled following the May 2025 chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by Rite Aid, according to Drug Topics. The company said that it continues facing financial hardships due to the “rapidly evolving retail and health care landscapes” and will close or sell all of its locations. CVS and other chains have purchased patient files from some Rite Aid stores but some of those chains are also struggling to stay afloat due to declining reimbursement, staffing shortages and other issues, according to Drug Topics.
• Annual out-of-pocket costs for the Medicare Part D drug benefit will be capped at $2,000 in 2025, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Many insurers are increasing premiums for their stand-alone drug plan offerings, however, according to health policy research firm KFF. Some major plan sponsors, including Aetna and UnitedHealthcare, are also reducing their stand-alone prescription drug plan offerings, and overall, there will be fewer prescription drug plans in 2025 than in 2024 – 524 plans nationwide, down from 709 in 2024.

• Strong pre-pandemic store growth is reversing as the industry faces headwinds like falling prescription reimbursement, persistent theft, and changing shopping habits, according to the Associated Press (AP). A pattern to who has access to pharmacies has emerged, with gaps existing in urban and rural neighborhoods. Residents of neighborhoods that are largely Black and Latino have fewer pharmacies per capita than people who live in mostly white neighborhoods, according to an AP analysis of licensing data from 44 states, data from the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs, and the American Community Survey. Drug stores and pharmacies routinely close because they aren’t doing well financially or because of decreasing population in a service area, according to the AP. More than 7,000 US pharmacies have closed since 2019, according to data from University of Pittsburgh researcher Lucas Berenbrok, who considers that estimate conservative. About 54% of the closures were independent drugstores, an AP analysis of Berenbrok’s data found.
• The prices that drug stores and pharmacies charge for their products decreased 1.4% year over year in June, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Drug store and pharmacy employment decreased moderately and wages for nonsupervisory employees increased slightly during the first five months of 2025, according to the BLS. Drug store and pharmacy sales increased 4.4% year over year but decreased 7% month over month in January 2025, according to the US Census Bureau.