Large insurer drops Big Y pharmacy coverageLarge insurer drops Big Y pharmacy coverage

Health insurance giant Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield has dropped its coverage for Big Y pharmacies in Connecticut, according to reports. The company is the largest health insurance provider in the state, and one of only two that provide coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Neither Big Y nor Anthem could be reached for comment.

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In a statement to NBC Connecticut, Anthem said it regularly evaluates its pharmacy networks in an effort to provide affordable care. It also said it takes care to ensure that its members have access to high-quality pharmacies. Some patients in Connecticut said Anthem sent them a list of alternative pharmacies in their area, but some of those had recently closed or were several miles further away than their local Big Y.

The move comes amid widespread drugstore closures across the country. CVS closed nine stores in Connecticut last year and recently announced two additional store closures in the state, according to reports. Walgreens also recently announced two store closures in Connecticut, and Rite Aid last year closed 12 Connecticut stores.

The removal of Big Y from Anthem’s pharmacy coverage network in Connecticut also comes as health insurers are seeking to cut costs by removing certain drugs, such as the GLP-1 diabetes drugs that have recently become widely popular as weight-loss treatments. Last year Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan said it would drop coverage of GLP-1 obesity drugs in certain plans starting this month, for example.

More details:

• Big Y opened its first pharmacy in 2001 and has since rolled out pharmacies to more than half of its 75 locations

• Last June Big Y unveiled a new pharmacy mobile app that includes a suite of tools to “help simplify patients’ healthcare experience”

• Eighteen Big Y pharmacies in Massachusetts were still listed as being covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts in the insurer’s 2025 pharmacy directory, which was last updated in September of last year