1. With your smartphone, snap the QR code below that applies to you (patient or pharmacist); on a desktop, click on the URL
2. The form you see on your phone will auto-populate with the appropriate message below. Personalize the message too; it will make a big difference
3. Enter your address and hit send. Your message will land in the inbox of your elected representative

Minnesota residents are facing growing challenges in accessing critical health and medication services due to pharmacy closures. The current pharmacy economic model is unsustainable, leading to pharmacy deserts across the state. Pharmacies are at a tipping point, with many at risk of closing in 2025 if legislative reform isn't enacted NOW.

• 61% of independently owned and 39% of chain pharmacies have closed their doors in Minnesota since 2013
• The primary driver of pharmacy closures is Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), who under-reimburse pharmacies 
• PBM reimbursement levels have dropped significantly over the past decade, compounded by punitive fees, contract terms, and opaque market practices that make it difficult for pharmacies to remain open across Minnesota
  

Many patients already have lost their local community pharmacy and many more will see their pharmacy close this year. The changes included in the following legislation considered at the Capitol this month will help save your local pharmacy.

Do you part to support pharmacies in 3 easy steps

1. Snap the QR code below that applies to you (patient or pharmacist)
2. The letters displayed below will automatically populate the form you see on your phone. Personalize the message if you can; it will make a big difference
3. Enter your address and hit send. Your message will land in the inbox of your elected representative

Dear legislator,

Communities across Minnesota are already suffering from a loss of healthcare access because of pharmacy deserts. If you do not act, more patients and communities will lose access to health and medication services. My family and I rely on the critical care provided by our local pharmacy, from vaccinations to picking up my prescriptions. My local pharmacist provides trusted, accessible care, and I want to ensure that pharmacy care continues to be accessible for all Minnesotans. Without proper reimbursement for their services, the care I’ve come to trust at my local pharmacy could be lost.

For Minnesotans who live in rural areas to the Twin Cities, for low-income patients, to our elderly across Minnesota or for those who face transportation difficulties, local community pharmacy care is a patient’s critical entry point to many health and medications services, and for many it is life-saving. We know that when Minnesotans can easily access care, it encourages better health outcomes and medication adherence too. Patients also rely on the healthcare advice provided by their pharmacist. My pharmacist is the health professional I see and rely on most.

Pharmacies are closing at an alarming rate across our state, and many community pharmacies like mine will close at the end of this year if you don’t do something. That is why legislative action now is so important.

Please protect pharmacy care in Minnesota and support the following bills this session.

Sustainable economic model bills

• HF1100 /  SF2152: The Directed Pharmacy Payment Program
• HF2242 / SF1574 : The Single PBM for MN-MA drug benefit management
• HF2909 / SF3256: MN-MA Coverage for Health Services performed by a pharmacist

PBM abuse and anti-fair business practices prohibited and enforced

• HF2714 / SF3055 : MN-62W-PBM Licensure & Regulation statute revisions and updates

These bipartisan bills will help stem the tide of community pharmacies closures in Minnesota and strengthen access to affordable, convenient pharmacy care for your constituents and families like mine.

PATIENTS: Take action! Use this form to tell your legislators to save community pharmacies across Minnesota.

Snap the QR code to email your legislator

OR

Click on this URL

As a pharmacist from your district, I’m writing today because community pharmacies across Minnesota are closing at alarming rates. 44% of all pharmacies and 61% or independently owned pharmacies have disappeared since 2014. Communities across Minnesota are already suffering from a loss of healthcare access because of pharmacy deserts. If you do not act, more patients and more communities will lose access to health and medication services at community pharmacies.

For Minnesotans all across the state, for low-income patients, for our elderly, and for those who face transportation difficulties—local community pharmacy care is the critical entry point to many health and medication services, and for many it is life-saving. We know that easy access to care encourages better health outcomes and medication adherence too. Patients also rely on the healthcare advice provided by their pharmacist.

Minnesota community pharmacies like mine see more than 55% of all Medical Assistance–PBM reimbursed prescription drug claims reimbursed far below our costs to fill and dispense a patient’s prescription medication. Close to 25% of patients in Minnesota are insured through MA. Below-cost reimbursement for that portion of our patients is unsustainable. You and your colleagues can make significant changes to stem the tide of pharmacy closures in Minnesota and in the long run save the State money.

In the near-term, we need a lifeline to stop the bleeding. Long term, I urge you to make consequential changes this year to the way MA reimburses Minnesota community pharmacies.

Local pharmacists, like me, provide trusted, accessible care. Please ensure that pharmacy care continues to be accessible for all Minnesotans. Without proper reimbursement for our services, the care patients have come to trust could be lost. Once we close our doors, we won’t be coming back.

Please protect pharmacy care in Minnesota and support the following bills this session:

Sustainable economic model bills

• HF1100 / SF2152 : The Directed Pharmacy Payment Program
• HF2242 / SF1574 : The Single PBM for MN-MA drug benefit management
• HF2909 / SF3256: MN-MA Coverage for Health Services performed by a pharmacist

PBM abuse and anti-fair business practices prohibited and enforced

• HF2714 / SF3055 : MN-62W-PBM Licensure & Regulation statute revisions and updates  

Pharmacists: Take action! Use this form to tell your legislators to save community pharmacies across Minnesota.

Snap the QR code to email your legislator

OR

Click on this URL