News
from the fight to #SaveIndiePharmacy
New York Times’ The Middlemen series
The Topline: Tens of thousands of Minnesotans to lose health insurance
Roughly 150,000 Minnesotans would lose health insurance under congressional Republicans’ plan to cut funding for Medicaid and other social services, according to an estimate released last week by Democrats on the Senate Joint Economic Committee.
Gov. Walz, Minnesota lawmakers roll back state health care for undocumented adults
Several DFL lawmakers of color loudly protested behind a closed door Thursday morning as Gov. Tim Walz and lawmakers announced that undocumented adults will no longer have access to a state health insurance program after this year.
Independent pharmacists plead their case at Minnesota State Capitol after mass closures in recent years
The Minnesota Board of Pharmacy says 44% of Minnesota's pharmacies have closed since 2013.
Rochester Pharmacist breaks down reasons for Minnesota's growing pharmacy deserts
The Minnesota Pharmacists Association (MPHA) held a legislative day in St. Paul, on March 5, according to Philip Hommerding, owner of Hunt's Silver Lake Drug Store, part of the purpose was to call attention to the state's growing pharmacy deserts.
Minnesota can save Medicaid dollars — if we cut out the middlemen
The Connecticut model has saved money and improved care
There’s a pharmacy shortage in Minnesota
This past December the University of Minnesota’s College of Pharmacy, in collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), released a map showing census tracts in Minnesota that have either low or limited pharmacy access.
Cigna sues, wants leeway to tell customers which pharmacies to use
In 2019, Minnesota passed the Minnesota Pharmacy Benefit Manager Licensure and Regulation Act. It prevents Pharmacy Benefit Managers or PBMs from requiring customers on an insurance plan to go to a pharmacy that the PBM owns, often by mail order.
Cub in Brooklyn Park to close in November
Another Twin Cities pharmacy closes. The supermarket in the Starlite Center at 7555 W. Broadway is anticipated to shut down for good on November 16, according to a spokesperson for UNFI Retail, Cub’s parent company.
Rally outside Optum HQ brings debate over pharmacy benefits managers to Twin Cities
Patients, providers, and legislators gathered to allege biggest players are ballooning drug costs while running independent pharmacies out of business; Optum denied claims.
Drugmakers including Purdue Pharma paid pharmacy benefit managers not to restrict painkiller prescriptions, a New York Times investigation found.