Major nationwide pharmacy to shut ALL of its stores within weeks causing prescription chaos for thousands

Rite Aid is predicted to unopen hundreds of stores wrong weeks aft filing for bankruptcy for the 2nd clip successful little than 2 years. 

It operated astir 2,000 pharmacies successful 2023 but present has lone 1,240 stores crossed the US with caller closures significantly reducing its presence successful markets specified arsenic Ohio and Michigan. 

Pennsylvania, California, New York, New Jersey and Washington were among the different states to instrumentality a hit. 

While the Philadelphia headquartered nationalist institution looks for a caller buyer, it says it has secured $1.94 cardinal successful financing to support stores operational during the modulation period.

It is chartless however galore stores are acceptable to close, but the concern says that it is looking to merchantability of each of its 'prescriptions, pharmacy and front-end inventory, and different assets'.

The announcement has triggered panic among those with existing prescriptions, but Rite Aid notes successful a missive to customers that 'the bulk of our stores volition stay unfastened and operating for the adjacent fewer months wherever you tin proceed to entree pharmacy services and products successful stores and online, including prescriptions and immunizations'.

The quality of imaginable store closures has exacerbated concerns astir the emergence of 'pharmacy deserts'.

These notation to areas wherever residents deficiency entree to a section pharmacy to capable their prescriptions, leaving them without a convenient and reliable root for indispensable medications, according to US lawmakers and commercialized groups including the National Community Pharmacists Association. 

Rite Aid, 1 of the largest US pharmacy retailers, has struggled successful caller years owed to precocious debt, inflationary pressures and accrued competition. 

The institution listed liabilities successful the scope of $1 cardinal to $10 cardinal successful a Chapter 11 petition filed successful New Jersey bankruptcy court.

Rite Aid plans to merchantability each of its assets to 1 oregon much buyers successful bankruptcy.

The institution already has started talks with imaginable nationalist and determination strategical acquirers, and it volition effort to minimize disruption to employees and pharmacy customers during the bankruptcy merchantability process, Rite Aid CEO Matt Schroeder said successful a statement.

'As we determination forward, our cardinal priorities are ensuring uninterrupted pharmacy services for our customers and preserving jobs for arsenic galore associates arsenic possible,' Schroeder said.

The institution told employees it volition chopped jobs aft failing to unafraid further financing from its lenders, citing an interior missive from Schroeder.

Rite Aid antecedently filed for Chapter 11 extortion successful October 2023 aft reporting $750 cardinal successful losses for the erstwhile fiscal year.

The institution utilized its erstwhile bankruptcy to chopped $2 cardinal successful debt, adjacent hundreds of stores, merchantability its pharmacy payment institution Elixir and negociate settlements with its lenders, cause organisation spouse McKesson and different creditors.

The erstwhile bankruptcy besides resolved hundreds of lawsuits alleging that Rite Aid ignored reddish flags erstwhile filling suspicious prescriptions for addictive opioid symptom drugs.

But contempt those settlements, Rite Aid inactive had $2.5 cardinal successful indebtedness erstwhile it emerged from bankruptcy arsenic a backstage institution owned by its lenders successful 2024.

Rite Aid enters its 2nd bankruptcy with a smaller retail footprint. 

Retail experts deliberation that the institution is moving retired of areas wherever it cannot vie with overmuch bigger chains CVS and Walgreens, which besides owns Duane Reade.

Instead it is focusing wherever it tin purpose to beryllium fig 2 down 1 oregon the other, specified arsenic successful Pennsylvania.

Pharmacy chains specified arsenic Rite Aid and its rivals including Walgreens and CVS person been nether unit arsenic falling cause margins and contention from Walmart and Amazon person led to closure of hundreds of stores.

Walgreens, facing important losses, precocious agreed to a $10 cardinal buyout by backstage equity steadfast Sycamore Partners - a melodramatic diminution from its $100 cardinal valuation a decennary ago, underscoring the terrible challenges facing accepted pharmacy retailers.

On apical of Rite Aid's fiscal woes, it faced a bid of lawsuits aft being accused the institution of overprescribing opioids.

In March 2023, the Justice Department sued the retailer for allegedly violating the national False Claims Act and Controlled Substances Act.

The Department accused the big-name store of filling hundreds of thousands of prescriptions for controlled substances, including opioids, contempt evident 'red flags.'

It besides alleged the institution deleted interior notes astir questionable prescriptions and told managers to archer pharmacists to 'be mindful of everything that is enactment successful writing.'

Rite Aid has denied each allegations.