08/25/2026
When People magazine puts a spotlight on something independent pharmacies have been living for years, you know it's finally hitting home. 👏
Here's the truth we see every day: the fight over PBMs was never just about reimbursement, it's about your neighbors.
Your community pharmacy isn't just a place to pick up a prescription. It's where people get their questions answered by someone who knows their name, it's clinical care, trusted advice, and in many towns (especially rural and underserved ones) it's one of the only healthcare doors left open.
When one of these pharmacies closes, a whole community feels it. Patients lose access to their medications. They lose their pharmacist. Sometimes they lose the last care option for miles.
That's how pharmacy deserts happen. And, when squeezed by PBMS and the giant, vertically integrated players swallowing up the supply chain, the pressure keeps building.
This year brought real progress on PBM reform, and that's worth celebrating. But let's be clear:
✨ 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞. ✨
We need deeper reform. And that means real transparency, real accountability, fair competition, and a marketplace where independent pharmacies can not just survive, but thrive. Because when they do, patients keep the care they count on.
AAPA was built by independent pharmacists, for independent pharmacists...because we've been there, and we're not done fighting. 💪
Fair Jones bought a pharmacy in her Mississippi hometown hoping to care for the community where she grew up. Six years later, she says filling more prescriptions has not translated into more profit.
