Rite Aid closures prompt Delaware to enact patient and pharmacy protections

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As hundreds of Rite Aid stores close this year following the retail pharmacy chain’s bankruptcy filing in May, Delaware insurance experts said they worry the fallout could be “catastrophic” for local patients and their access to vital medications.

As a result, the Delaware Department of Insurance recently issued new requirements for health insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers that aim to expedite prescription refills and transfers.

“We’ve tried to be proactive here,” said Delaware Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro.

More than two dozen Rite Aid locations in Delaware are slated for closure, according to bankruptcy documents.

The Delaware Board of Pharmacy has authorized one-time emergency refills for active prescriptions. Under new state requirements, health insurers must cover these medications and refer to existing prescription records or pharmacy databases to quickly approve them.

“There should be no delays for urgent medications including controlled substances and specialty drugs,” Navarro said.

Insurance carriers also need to notify patients and customers who are directly affected by a closure and “provide clear instructions on transferring prescriptions” to another local pharmacy, according to the state bulletin.

Both insurers and pharmacy benefit managers must provide hotlines or other kinds of customer support services for people who need help through the transition process.

Patients can be proactive, too, Navarro said, by shopping around for a new pharmacy and figuring out which option might best fit their needs. He said people may want to consider how many other customers use these other locations for their prescriptions and how that could affect wait times.

“If you have to wait in line for half an hour, turn in your prescription and then they fill it in 20 minutes and you have to get back in line, you’re stuck there for an hour or sometimes longer,” Navarro said.

In recent years, Navarro said his department has worked closely with the Delaware General Assembly to pass laws that better regulate pharmacy benefit managers, middlemen of sorts who represent health insurance companies as they negotiate prescription drug reimbursement payments to pharmacies.

The new state rules related to the Rite Aid closures require pharmacy benefit managers to “ensure fair reimbursement rates” for pharmacies that absorb displaced patients and take over their prescriptions.

Navarro said this should better protect smaller and independent pharmacies who don’t always have the same negotiating power as larger pharmacy chains or stores when it comes to insurance payments.

“They are the life blood of the community in many cases,” Navarro said of the smaller establishments.

Rite Aid closures could lead to scams

As Rite Aid stores continue to close, Navarro said some groups of people, including elderly residents, may become especially vulnerable to scammers who may take advantage of the situation and try to get sensitive, personal information from people who need help.

“These types of scams will always follow these types of scenarios,” he said. “Entities like Social Security and Medicare will not call you and ask for your Social Security number, they will not call and ask for your Medicare number. We want people to always be cautious.”

Delawareans who experience prescription delays, denials or suspected scams related to the Rite Aid closure are encouraged to file formal complaints to the insurance department’s Consumer Services Division for investigation.