ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Reaffirming past estimates, an economic impact study of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 found that 11,105 pharmacies across the country could close due to reductions in the Medicaid reimbursement rate, which is well below their cost to fill prescriptions. The report was released jointly yesterday by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores here and the Food Marketing Institute, Arlington, Va. It analyzes the potential impact of the DRA on pharmacies, and encompasses chain drug stores, independent pharmacies, and mass merchants and supermarkets with pharmacies. “These cuts threaten to diminish access to medications and pharmacy services, and they also threaten the vitality of communities,” said Steven Anderson, NACDS president and chief executive officer. “In many rural and urban communities, supermarkets provide the only pharmacies able to serve Medicaid patients,” said Tim Hammonds, president and CEO at FMI. “By reducing Medicaid reimbursements as this law requires, many pharmacies would be forced to close, and low-income Americans would have to travel many miles to obtain vital medicines.”

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