Clay County, in Southwest Georgia, has about 3,000 residents, one doctor and one pharmacy. On Sept. 12, that pharmacy is set to close, which is a real setback for medical access in the community.
Buy-Rite Drugs’ Fort Gaines location, which has one full-time pharmacist, has been struggling for years to make the numbers work. “We just got to the point now where we can’t afford to stay in business with the amount of money we’re losing,” said Ron Pickens, the company’s pharmacy district manager. “That’s an issue in the world of pharmacy.” He said it has a lot to do with reimbursement rates from insurance companies.
“It is especially tough for an independent pharmacy when a lot of times our reimbursement rate seems to be a whole lot different than what some of the big box stores are being reimbursed,” he said. “It’s not a decision in Fort Gaines that we took lightly. We’ve been going over this for the past four or five years, and it’s a problem that we fight in all of our stores.”
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