By Nada Hassanein for Stateline on January 17, 2025
Independent drugstores are closing at an alarming rate — about one a day in 2023 — squeezed by the huge companies that reimburse pharmacies for costly medications. But with each closure, a community loses more than another place where they can buy medicine. Experts say independent drugstores are more likely to know their patrons, offer health and medication counseling, and, crucially, serve communities in need.
“They’re going to close. If they’re relying on insurance, it’s not sustainable,” said Dima Mazen Qato, a University of Southern California clinical pharmacy and spatial sciences professor who studies pharmacy access.
In recent studies, Qato and her team found independent pharmacies were more likely to close compared with chain pharmacies — and they were more likely to shutter in Black and Latino communities already facing disproportionate barriers to care.
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