U.S. Senator Katie Britt is continuing to push for solutions to a problem affecting rural communities across the country.
In a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Britt spoke to a panel of experts regarding the continuing closures of rural pharmacies, particularly in Alabama.
The lawmaker began her remarks by drawing attention to the high number of pharmacies that have shut down over just the past 15 years.
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“We’ve seen over 6,500 independent pharmacies close their doors since 2010,” said Britt (R-Montgomery).
“In Alabama, we looked at the reliable data between 2015 and 2018. We had over 225 close their doors. That goes to a rate of about one per month. When you’re dealing with a state like Alabama, in our rural communities, local independent pharmacies are often the only healthcare provider within 20 or 30 miles.”
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She called the closures ‘absolutely and completely unacceptable’ while speaking about the role pharmacy benefit managers play in the shrinking number of rural operations.
“When PBMs impose retroactive clawbacks, DIR fees, and below-cost reimbursement rates, they’re not just squeezing your bottom line, they are pushing out entire communities towards pharmacy deserts.”
Britt addressed one of the growing issues relating to the dropping number of rural pharmacies.
“There is a relationship aspect in our rural communities that cannot be matched,” she said. “When you’re looking at creating opportunity, that opportunity for the American dream, you can’t draw in that opportunity without access to care, without access to pharmacies. No one is going to come and locate a plant and create good-paying jobs, or decide to expand in a place that has a pharmacy desert. We know that is true.”
“Looking at this in a place like Alabama, where 50, 55 out of 67 of our communities are rural communities, they deserve better.”
Austen Shipley is the News Director for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
