CONSUMERS in one state could lose at least 23 locations from a major pharmacy chain soon.
The closures would come due to new legislation that was signed into law last month with the goal of lowering prescription costs.
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Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders officially signed HB1150 on April 16, per Drug Store News.
HB1150 is a bill that prohibits state permits for pharmacy locations owned by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).
PBMs are effectively managers of prescription drug benefits and negotiate with pharmaceutical manufacturers and insurers to determine which drugs consumers can get easily and at what price.
They ultimately “determine the prices insurers pay and the payments pharmacies receive,” along with ensuring that the prescriptions are safe and effective, as noted by the Center for American Progress.
Read More on Store Closures
CVS Health’s PBM is notably CVS Caremark, which owns 23 CVS Pharmacy drugstores across Arkansas.
With the new legislation, that isn’t allowed anymore, meaning when it takes effect on January 1, 2026, CVS is preparing to shutter them to abide by the law.
CVS’ POSITION
Still, the company blasted HB1150 in a statement to Drug Store News.
It argued the bill would take away prescription access for some areas and not help lower drug costs.
CVS Health also said that it will put thousands of employees out of work.
“CVS Health welcomes a good-faith discussion with policymakers in Arkansas and across the country on ways to make medicine more affordable and accessible,” it noted in the statement.
“Unfortunately, HB1150 is a bad policy that accomplishes just the opposite: it will take away access to pharmacy care in local communities, hike prescription drug spending across the state by millions of dollars each year, and cost hundreds of Arkansans their jobs.”
“Specifically, the Arkansas legislature and governor are choosing to close 23 community pharmacies (including some of the very few that are open 24 hours), fire more than 500 local healthcare workers, erode access to specialized pharmacy care for the 10,000 Arkansas patients with the serious conditions who rely on additional support, and increase the cost of Arkansas health benefits by millions of dollars each year,” CVS Health continued.
The drugstore chain also fumed that a “simple economic analysis could have avoided all this chaos” and that “CVS Caremark reimburses independent pharmacies in Arkansas 61% higher than it does CVS pharmacies.”
Even with CVS Health’s stance, the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) and the Arkansas Pharmacists Association (APA) issued support for HB1150, as it would “stop the abusive self-dealing at PBM-affiliated pharmacies that raises prescription drug prices and limits patient access,” per APA CEO John Vinson.
CVS closes 900 stores
CVS Health is finishing up its three-year plan to close 900 stores.
CEO Karen Lynch said it has shut down 851 so far, The Associated Press reported in August 2024.
The company announced the plan in November 2021, saying that the closures would lead to a retail presence that ensures it has the “right kinds of stores in the right locations for consumers and for the business,” per CNN.
The shutdowns amount to almost 10% of CVS’s footprint, in response to the shifting of “consumer buying patterns.”
The closures are part of a wider change in strategy of the company’s almost 10,000 locations.
Some stores have been removed to include more health services, such as primary care, and an “enhanced version” of CVS’s HealthHub layout.
“We remain focused on the competitive advantage provided by our presence in thousands of communities across the country, which complements our rapidly expanding digital presence,” Lynch said in 2021.
The shutdowns cost the company approximately $1 billion dollars in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to CNN.
NCPA senior vice president of government affairs, Anne Cassity, also said in a statement that “HB1150 is a structural change that gets to the heart of the problem — the conflicts of interest inherent in vertical integration that PBMs have been manipulating to the detriment of patients, taxpayers, and pharmacies.”
CARE SWITCH
CVS Health customers will also face another significant change next year that could result in about one million patients across 17 states losing health insurance coverage.
A health insurance company owned by CVS is Aetna, which offers plans under the Affordable Care Act, another name for Obamacare.
Obamacare was designed as a program to offer affordable and comprehensive individual health insurance options to Americans.
As noted in an official decision on May 1, CVS Health will be exiting Obamacare in 2026, leaving around one million patients in 17 states searching for new coverage.
“The company decided to exit the individual exchange business where Aetna independently operates ACA plans for 2026,” a statement from CVS Health read.
“The decision is consistent with others taken this year to focus on the company’s portfolio. The company is best able to serve members through its other health benefit solutions, which offer access to quality care, affordable health benefits, and exceptional service.”
CVS Health added, “the company will continue delivering superior service and support individual exchange members through 2025 and residual activities in 2026.”
It’s important to note that the one million members enrolled in Aetna’s Obamacare health insurance plans are a small portion of CVS’ total medical memberships, which is currently around 27.1 million.
Even so, all the impacted members will need to buy new health plan coverage this fall when insurers announce 2026 benefits.
CVS Health CEO David Joyner also recently revealed plans to cut “egregious price hikes” on prescriptions after blasting pharmaceutical manufacturers for a $21 million spike.
There are ongoing fears that drug prices will soar, in general, amid President Donald Trump’s global reciprocal tariffs.