As consumers struggle with soaring drug prices, AstraZeneca Q3 profits doubled to $1.37 billion.
The pharmaceutical industry is enjoying record profits while simultaneously pursuing lawsuits challenging the Biden administration's efforts to make drugs affordable for Medicare beneficiaries, a patient advocacy group says.
In stark contrast to reports of record profits, Funk notes that 3-in-10 Americans say they can't afford drugs. That has not stopped leading drug makers, including AstraZeneca and trade association PhRMA, from challenging drug price negotiations mandated in the Inflation Reduction Act.
"Another day, another drug company brags of billion-dollar profits while suing to stop the historic Biden law working to lower drug costs for struggling seniors,"Funk says."Big Pharma and their lackeys in Congress are fighting tooth and nail to undo the Inflation Reduction Act's Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program so that companies can keep squeezing maximum profits out of seniors, including many choosing between food and medicine."
AstraZeneca's Farxiga, used to treat type 2 diabetes, heart failure and chronic kidney disease, is one of the first 10 drugs selected for the initial negotiations. The presumedly lowered prices are projected to save nearly 19 million Medicare Part D enrollees $400 a year by 2025.
Accountable.US says its own research has previously found that the five-biggest U.S.-based pharmaceutical companies spent $112 billion in R&D from 2019 through 2021, and $125 billion on stock buybacks and dividends over the same period.
"Based on their own earnings reports, it's clear these price hikes are just a way to extract more money from patients in need and redistribute it to wealthy shareholders," Funk says.
AstraZeneca and PhRMA on Thursday did not respond to HealthLeaders' request for comment.
"Too many corporations motivated by greed have jacked up prices despite enormous profits, and Big Pharma is among the worst offenders," Funk says. "Congressional Republicans should be celebrating the historic Biden law allowing Medicare to negotiate cheaper drug prices, not helping pharma CEOs and lobbyists undo it in pursuit of more political donations."
Accountable.US is funded by the social activist private equity New Venture Fund.
The healthcare sector continues to be a job-creating dynamo.
Healthcare accounted for nearly 40% of the 150,000 jobs created in the U.S. economy in March, new federal data show.
Overall job growth in the national economy slowed in October, well below the 258,000 monthly average for jobs gained over the past 12 months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly report on job growth.
The 58,000 healthcare jobs created in October was more than the 53,000 monthly average for new jobs in the sector over the past year, BLS says.
Within healthcare, ambulatory care services continued to lead in job creation, accounting for 32,000 new jobs for the month. Hospitals accounted for 18,000 jobs, and nursing and residential care accounted for 8,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate in the overall economy held steady at 3.9% in October, BLS says, with 6.4 million people reporting as unemployed, unchanged from September. Big job gains also were seen in government (51,000), leasure and hospitality (19,000), and professional services (15,000) social servoces (14,000). Manufacturing jobs fell by 35,000, reflecting the fallout in the automotive parts manufacturing sector owing to the United Auto Workers strike.
The average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls in October rose by 7 cents, or 0.2%, to $34. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 4.1%. The average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 10 cents, or 0.3%, to $29.19.
October and September job numbers are considered preliminary by BLS, and subject to revisions.
Unfortunately, the drug shortages are more expansive than that.
A U.S. Senate report released in March found 295 active drug shortages at the end of 2022 for pharmaceuticals ranging from more than a dozen cancer drugs to Children's Tylenol and representing a 20% increase from the 246 drug shortages reported at the end of 2021.
The data, compiled by the American Society of Health System Pharmacists, also found that drug shortages worsened in 2022, growing from 114 to 160 reported shortages, a 40% increase.
These shortages have consequences for public health.
A recent survey of nearly 200 clinicians, pharmacists, and procurement specialist compiled by nonprofit ECRI and its affiliate Institute for Safe Medication Practices found growing concerns that the shortages are hurting patient care, across several specialties, including surgery and anesthetics (74%), emergency care (64%), pain management (52%), cardiology (45%), hematology and oncology (44%), infectious diseases (39%), and obstetrics and gynecology (37%).
Half of the respondents in the ECRI survey report having to delay or cancel surgical procedures and drug treatments, such as chemotherapy, one-third say they aren't able to provide optimal treatment because of drug shortages, and one quarter say they know of at least one error related to a drug, supply, or device shortages.
"While medication and supply shortages have been widely reported across healthcare, we now know with certainty that these shortages are causing preventable harm and have the potential to cause even more if they are not addressed soon," says ECRI President / CEO Marcus Schabacker, MD, PhD.
"There are strategies hospitals can use to reduce the impact of shortages, but they are a deviation from standard practice and resource-intensive—two characteristics that themselves can increase the likelihood of preventable harm," he says.
The problems the drug supply chain faces are very much like the problem shortages of personal protective equipment and single-use clinical supplies.
There are several explanations for the shortages, including product quality and sanitation issues, drugmakers abandoning cheaper generics, and natural disasters. However, the biggest single hurdle – and the hardest to clear -- is that most of the shortages begin outside of United States, limiting our options for corrective measures.
In a Johns Hopkins podcast examining drug shortages, Mariana Socal, MD, PhD, a policy researcher and associate scientist at the University's Bloomberg School of Health Policy and Management, noted that the "drug supply chain typically starts far away from the U.S."
"Our research has found that over 85% of all of the active ingredients needed to produce generic drugs for the U.S. are produced overseas," Socal says. "These ingredients are then transported to a second player—the facility that will then manufacture the finalized product."
Any single kink in this long, complex, multinational supply chain can derail the entire process. Until the U.S. can find a meaningful, effective solution that can safeguard the supply chain, Socal says providers will have to make do with incremental improvements.
"Other than the companies coming back online and producing the drugs we need, I'm not confident right now that we have a good long-term strategy. This is just a Band-Aid," she says. "And I'm worried for my patients that this could keep happening and could potentially worsen with each shortage, given what we're seeing now."
Physician-advocates say that lifting the ban would provide a counterwight to the ongoing consolidation of traditional hospitals.
Congress is considering lifting a 13-year ban on physician-owned hospitals, and though the odds are long that any action will occur soon amid the chaos in the U.S. House, powerful stakeholders on both sides of the issue are sharpening their talking points.
A discussion draft introduced this month in the House Health Subcommittee would amend the Stark Law’s ban on physician self-referrals for Medicare and Medicaid patients"for certain rural hospitals that are located a certain distance from an existing hospital or critical access hospital."
No action has been taken on the draft, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Michael C. Burgess, R-TX,and it’s not clear if any action will be taken this year. That hasn’t stopped stakeholders on both sides of the issue from pre-emptively offering very different perspectives.
In a joint statement this month,Chip Kahn, president / CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals, and Stacey Hughes, executive vice president of the American Hospital Association, say that the Stark Law was enacted to ensure "a level playing field in the service of higher-quality, more affordable, and improved access to care for patients."
"And, it is why in 2010 Congress closed the law’s 'whole hospital' exception loophole, prohibiting physicians from referring Medicare and Medicaid patients to new hospitals in which they have an ownership interest, and limiting the growth of existing POHs," they say.
The hospital associations say the Stark Law is needed to prevent POHs from "further expanding their practices of selecting the healthiest and most profitable patients, driving up utilization, and deferring emergency services to publicly funded 911 services or general acute care hospitals when their patients need emergency care."
"POHs cherry-pick healthy and wealthy patients, they provide limited emergency services and are ill-equipped to respond to public health crises, and they increase costs for patients, other providers, and the federal government," the associations say.
Docs Fire Back
There are about 240 physician-owned hospitals nationally, and they represent about 5% of the roughly 5,700 hospitals in the United States.
Physician advocates for POHs say that lifting the ban would counter the ongoing and accelerating consolidation of traditional hospitals and offset the rise in physician employment, both of which have increased healthcare costs for consumers.
The American Medical Association and a slew of state physician associations say repealing the POH ban "will inject much-needed competition into the market by allowing physician-owned hospitals to compete."
"Lifting the ban on physician-owned hospitals would allow physicians to open new hospitals as well as acquire existing hospitals, and in doing so implement alternative care delivery and payment models that create efficiencies that benefit consumers while enhancing care," the AMA says.
"Competition created by new or expanded physician-owned hospitals through lower costs or higher quality services—or both—will induce traditional hospitals to upgrade their offerings or risk losing market share. Allowing physicians to acquire hospitals, particularly those in rural areas whose future might be uncertain, would protect access to care that might otherwise be lost."
The POH lobby cites a report commissioned by the Physician’s Advocacy Institute and The Physicians Foundation which estimates that POHs generated $1.1 billion in savings in 2019 compared to traditional hospitals when examining the total cost of care for 20 of the most expensive conditions for Medicare patients.
Physician stakeholders also complain that POHs were unfairly used as a bargaining chip by the Obama administration to gain support for the ACA from the hospital lobby.
"Permitting new physician-owned hospitals could promote desperately needed innovation in care delivery, flexibility in hospital supply during emergencies, and increase competition for physician labor, presenting a counterweight to the existential crisis of our time: burnout and the loss of physician autonomy," the AMA says.
"Physicians are in the best position to make decisions with and for their patients, so it’s not surprising that Congress is considering allowing new physician-owned hospitals that align the interests of ownership and practicing physicians to improve patients’ care," says PAI Vice President Michael J. Darrouzet, CEO of the Texas Medical Association.
"Now, Congress has another reason to act. Hospitals owned by physicians promise significant cost savings when it comes to Medicare patients’ most expensive medical conditions. Better quality and notable cost savings to patients and taxpayers is a clear signal that physician-owned hospitals is a policy worthy of adoption," Darrouzet says.
GNC Health will offer Basic, Plus, and Premier tiers under the expansion, with prices ranging from $35 a year for Basic to $60 a month for enhanced family plans in Premier.
Vitamin and nutrition supplement retailer GNC is expanding its virtual health business and offering three-tiered plans for individuals and families, the Pittsburgh-based company announced Monday.
GNC Health will offer Basic, Plus, and Premier tiers under the expansion, with prices ranging from $35 a year for Basic to $60 a month for enhanced family plans in Premier.
Members can schedule free telehealth appointments with board-certified clinicians for common ailments at no additional cost. More than 400 prescription drugs will be included with zero copay and thousands of other drugs will be discounted by as much as 80% at retail pharmacies nationwide.
"We envision GNC Health as a way to broaden our consumer reach and bring people meaningful health and wellness solutions because everyone deserves the opportunity to Live Well," said Allison Bentley, senior director of strategic programs, GNC Health. "With GNC Health, we're supporting our consumers' health and wellness journeys while keeping our core brand relevant and top-of-mind."
Three Tiers
Here's a detailed look at the services offered under GNC Health’s three-tiered plans.
Basic – GNC Health Basic is for individuals for an annual fee of $34.99 that provides unlimited access nationwide, including:
Free Virtual Urgent Care
Free Virtual Lifestyle Care
100+ $0 prescription medications
Plus – GNC Health Plus charges between $10 and $30 a month and includes all the services in the Basic plan, plus:
Free virtual urgent care
Free virtual primary care
400+ $0 prescription medications
Access for up to 6 immediate family members
Premier – GNC Health Premier charges $40 a month for individuals and $60 a month for families, includes all the services in Basic and Plus, plus free access to virtual mental healthcare and virtual physical therapy.
Customers already enrolled in GNC PRO Access will continue to receive the Basic membership plan, with the option to upgrade to a higher tier.
The nation's three largest pharmacy chains have announced plans to close nearly 1,500 underperforming stores.
It wasn't long ago that the expansion into primary care by the nation's leading retail pharmacy chains was seen as a threat to traditional providers.
However, a spate of financial woes, leadership shuffles, staff shortages and related store closings at CVS Health, Walgreens Boot Alliance, and the recent bankruptcy filing by Rite Aid have prompted the chains to pull back on their primary care initiatives.
Combined, the nation's three largest pharmacy chains have announced plans to close nearly 1,500 underperforming stores.
The problems facing the three retail pharmacies are similar, and include rising drug prices, pressure from insurers, post-pandemic changes in customer behavior that have reduced store traffic, and an alarming spike in shoplifting.
In February, traditional primary care providers were warned about the incursions by these nontraditional providers. An American Hospital Association-commissioned report placed Walgreens and CVS among a handful of big retailers and payers, including Amazon, Walmart, and UnitedHealth Group, that were identified as major disruptors in the primary care sector.
"The nation's largest retail, payer and tech disruptors once again invested billions of dollars in healthcare in 2022, continuing to build out their visions to transform the field," the report said.
CVS had planned a major expansion in the primary care market in 2024 following its $10.6 billion acquisition in May of Oak Street Health, the value-based, primary care platform.
Walgreens had a similar strategy with the creation of Walgreens Health and a $5 billion majority stake in VillageMD, acquired in October 2022, an acquisition that then-CEO Roz Brewer called “a new strategy to transform our core businesses.”
"Our strategy leverages an ecosystem including our trusted brands, exceptional assets, healthcare expertise and scale, integrated with a range of new talent, capabilities, resources and an intensified focus on operational excellence to drive long-term sustainable profit growth," Brewer said.
However, those aspirations have not panned out for CVS, Walgreens or Rite Aid, as all of them have reported ongoing financial underperformance this year.
Walgreens
Last week, Walgreens, rocked by financial woes, a leadership shakeup, the wobbly launch of a value-based care initiative, and pharmacists in open revolt, named veteran healthcare executive Tim Wentworth as its new CEO, effective October 23.
Wentworth replaces Brewer, who left abruptly in early September after less than three years at the helm. Following her out the door were CFO James Kehoe and CIO Hsiao Wang.
During an Oct. 13 call with investors, Walgreens announced plans to close 60 VillageMD clinics and exit five markets in 2024 to cut at least $1 billion in costs as it pivots its strategy with Wentworth.
Two days after naming Wentworth CEO, the drugstore chain released its Q4 earnings report, showing a net loss of $3.1 billion for the year, compared to net earnings of $4.3 billion for the 2022.
"Our performance this year has not reflected WBA's strong assets, brand legacy, or our commitment to our customers and patients,” Walgreens interim CEO Ginger Graham said at the time.
“In just six weeks, we have taken a number of steps to align our cost structure with our business performance, including planned cost reductions of at least $1 billion, and lowered capital expenditures by approximately $600 million.”
CVS
The C-suite shuffle at CVS Health continued this week with the announcement that CFO and President of Health Services Shawn Guertin is taking a leave of absence “due to unforeseen family health reasons.”
In his stead, Tom Cowhey, SVP of Corporate Finance, has been named interim CFO, and Mike Pykosz, CEO of Oak Street Health, has been named interim President of Health Services, the Woonsocket, RI-based company announced.
“Our thoughts are with Shawn and his family during this difficult period,” CVS Health President / CEO Karen S. Lynch said. “The Board and I have every confidence that Tom and Mike will ensure we continue to execute our strategy seamlessly while we give Shawn time to be with his family.”
However temporary, the executive shuffle at CVS comes two weeks before the company will report its Q3 findings on Nov. 1.
In August CVS announced a restructuring plan that will eliminate 5,000 jobs to save $600 million, as it released a disappointing Q2 earnings report which showed a net income of $1.9 billion, a 37% decline year-over-year.
During the August investors call, Lynch said CVS wants to trim up to $800 million in expenses in 2024 while shifting resources to expand Oak Street Health.
"These actions enable us to reallocate resources and invest in critical growth areas, such as health services and technology, which are the biggest enabler of our strategy," Lynch said on a call. "We've taken meaningful steps executing on our long-term strategy with tangible proof of the value of our unique integrated offering."
Guertin was appointed president of Health Services on Sept. 7 as part of a reorganization that expanded the roles of several senior executives.
That September reorganization also saw Chief Pharmacy Officer Prem Shah named president of Pharmacy and Consumer Wellness; Chief Customer and Experience Officer Michelle Peluso charged with enhancing patients' end-to-end experience across the company's service channels; and Brian Kane taking over as president of Aetna, a move that was announced in April.
Rite Aid
Also this week, Rite Aid, hobbled by $4 billion in debts, filed for bankruptcy on Sunday with plans to close hundreds of underperforming stores and sell Elixir, its pharmacy benefits subsidiary.
Court documents show that Rite Aid lost $1 billion in the months ahead of its bankruptcy filing, and the chain warned investors that it may not be able to keep the business operational.
Rite Aid paid $2 billion for Elixir in 2015, but analysts believe the company won't recoup even half that much in the sale.
“Rite Aid's bankruptcy filing follows years of underperformance compared with its drug retail peers, yielding a weakened competitive position, elevated financial leverage and limited cash flow generation,” FitchRatings said this week.
Of more than 2.3 million primary care visits, 51% used telemedicine (19.5% video and 31.3% telephone).
In-person follow-up visits were a bit higher after telemedicine consultations when compared with in-person primary care visits, but that varied by specific clinical condition, according to a study published today in Annals of Internal Medicine.
The study, compiled by clinicians at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, CA, and funded primarily by a grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, sought to discern how well telemedicine addresses patient needs post-COVID public health emergency.
The study examined a large, integrated health care delivery system with more than 1,300 primary care providers, between April 2021 and December 2021 (including the COVID-19 pandemic Delta wave). Researchers examined the electronic health records of more than 1.5 million adult patients, of whom 26% age 65 or older, 55% were woman, 22% were Asian, 7.4% were Black, 22% were Hispanic, 46.5% were White, 21.5% lived in less-affluent neighborhoods, and 31.8% had a chronic health condition.
Of more than 2.3 million primary care visits, 51% used telemedicine (19.5% video and 31.3% telephone). Medications were prescribed in 47% of office visits, 38% of video visits, and 34.6% of telephone visits.
After the visit, 1.3% of in-person visits, 6.2% of video visits, and 7.6% of telephone visits had a 7-day return in-person primary care visit; 1.6% of in-person visits, 1.8% of video visits, and 2.1% of telephone visits were followed by an emergency department visit. Differences in follow-up office visits were largest after index office versus telephone visits for acute pain conditions and smallest for mental health.
Treatments administered included medication or antibiotic prescribing and laboratory or imaging ordering. Follow-up visits included in-person visits to the primary care office or emergency department or hospitalization within 7 days.
Outcomes were adjusted for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics overall and stratified by clinical area (abdominal pain, gastrointestinal concerns, back pain, dermatologic concerns, musculoskeletal pain, routine care, hypertension or diabetes, and mental health).
In the study setting, telemedicine is fully integrated with ongoing EHRs and with clinicians, and the study examines an insured population during the late COVID-19 pandemic period. Observational comparison lacks detailed severity or symptom measures. Follow-up was limited to 7 days. Clinical area categorization uses diagnosis code rather than symptom.
Tim Wentworth, the founding CEO of Evernorth, will face daunting challenges from Day One at the retail chain.
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., rocked by financial woes, a leadership shakeup, the wobbly launch of a value-based care initiative, and pharmacists in open revolt, has named veteran healthcare executive Tim Wentworth as its new CEO, effective on October 23.
The announcement comes on the eve of Walgreens Q4 earnings report. Analysts are predicting that the company will end the fiscal year with earnings of about $34 billion, down 7.3% year-over-year. Walgreens has seen its stock value halved in the past year, reaching a 12-year low in mid-July.
The company’s cost-cutting measures, announced in early July, include layoffs for about 10% of its workforce and closing 150 stores nationwide and another 300 stores in the United Kingdom by August 2024.
Walgreens’ recent financial woes may have prompted the surprise departure of CEO Rosalind Brewer in early September, who left abruptly after only two years at the helm. Following her out the door were CFO James Kehoe and CIO Hsiao Wang.
In addition to the financial woes, Walgreens is staring at an open revolt among pharmacists and technicians, who this week walked off the job at several stores to protest chronic understaffing, long hours, and a volatile work environment. The walkout brought with it a boatload of bad publicity for Walgreens and forced the chain to temporarily close several stores.
Rocky Launch of Value-based Care
In October 2021, Walgreens unveiled Walgreens Health, which it described as a "new consumer-centric healthcare strategy to drive sustainable, long-term profitable growth." The venture partnered with VillageMD and CareCentrix -- where WBA owns a majority stake -- to "accelerating the company's capabilities in primary care, post-acute care and home care." However, the rollout has been rocky and unprofitable for Walgreens, and also played a role in Brewer's departure.
In mid-September, Walgreens announced a partnership with clinical technology provider Pearl Health that they said would accelerate the drug retailer's expansion into value-based care.
Veteran Leader
Wentworth says he sees his new post as an "incredible opportunity to lead the next phase of WBA's evolution, working with the Board and WBA leadership to deliver sustainable value and results.”
"WBA has a differentiated model with the power to build on the company’s pharmacy strength and trusted brand to evolve healthcare delivery, Wentworth said in a media release. "I believe in WBA’s vision to be the leading partner in reimagining local healthcare and well-being for all.”
Wentworth's blue-chip resume in the healthcare sector includes his most-recent role as founding CEO of Cigna subsidiary Evernorth.
Before that, he was CEO of Express Scripts, the largest pharmacy benefit manager in the United States, following the company's merger with Medco Health Solutions, Inc. in 2012, where he grew the company into a Fortune 22 company with more than $100 billion in revenue and 26,000 employees. He has also served in leadership roles at Accredo, Medco’s specialty pharmacy, and Mary Kay, Inc.
"I’ve spent my career working to improve the health of the patients we've served. I believe WBA is well-positioned to deliver more personalized, coordinated care, and achieve better outcomes at a lower cost,” Wentworth said.
"I fully recognize the challenges that health plans, healthcare providers, pharmacies, and retailers are confronting today and am confident that WBA, and its customer- and patient-focused teams, can seize the opportunities of a dynamic marketplace and be the partner of choice.”
The hospital lobby and the chairman of the HELP committee provide vastly different analyses on the extent of charity care and community benefits provided by nonprofits.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, and the American Hospital Association are at odds over the level of community benefits and charity care that nonprofit hospitals provide in exchange for their tax-exempt status.
Sanders, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) released a report this week that claims that nonprofit hospitals aren't holding up their end of the bargain.
"Hospitals have gladly accepted the tax benefits that come with nonprofit status but have failed to provide the required community benefits," Sanders says in his report. "Non-profit hospitals spent only an estimated $16 billion on charity care in 2020, or about 57% of the value of their tax breaks in the same year. Those hospitals have made information about their charity care programs difficult to access, leaving many patients unaware that they may qualify for free ordiscounted care."
The AHA this week fired back with a report showing that nonprofit hospitals provided more than $129 billion in community benefits in 2020.
"Even in the face of a once-in-a-century pandemic, all hospitals, regardless of ownership type, continued to provide a comprehensive range of benefits, programs and essential services to their communities," AHA says. "The analysis calculates that tax-exempt hospitals' and health systems' total community benefits were 15.5% of their total expenses in 2020, based on data from the Internal Revenue."
Pharmacy workers at Walgreens are walking off the job as labor unrest continues to rock the healthcare sector.
If you're tracking recent labor unrest in the United States these days, be forewarned that it could trigger a bout of vertigo.
Sometimes it seems like the whole country is on strike, with major walkouts seen in the auto industry, entertainment, and of course, healthcare.
Healthcare workers' grievances are pretty much the same: overworked, understaffed, underpaid.
The recently completed three-day walkout by more than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers—reportedly the largest healthcare sector strike in U.S. history—is technically over, but the issues that prompted the walkout, essentially staffing and compensation, have not been resolved.
The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions this week gave the mega-healthcare system a three-week deadline to negotiate a settlement or risk a weeklong walkout starting on Nov. 1.
And, you might want to call your local Walgreens before you schlep over there for your meds. They might not be open. That's because frazzled, overworked pharmacy staff at some of the retailer's stores in several states walked out on Monday after complaining of harsh working conditions. The walkout is expected to last through Wednesday.
To its credit, Walgreens has acknowledged the stressors on its pharmacy workers and the sacrifices they've made.
"Our pharmacy teams work tirelessly to serve our communities—from administering life-saving vaccines, to helping patients receive prescriptions and health screenings—especially this time of year, during which we see some of the highest rates of respiratory illnesses and seasonal vaccinations," the company says today in prepared remarks to HealthLeaders.
"The last few years have required an unprecedented effort from our team members, and we share their pride in this work—while recognizing it has been a very challenging time. We also understand the immense pressures felt across the U.S. in retail pharmacy right now."
"We are engaged and listening to the concerns raised by some of our team members. We are committed to ensuring that our entire pharmacy team has the support and resources necessary to continue to provide the best care to our patients while taking care of their own well-being. We are making significant investments in pharmacist wages and hiring bonuses to attract/retain talent," the company says.
The Walgreens labor unrest comes on the heels of similar unrest at rival CVS Health, where late last month pharmacists in the Kansas City area—complaining of chronic understaffing and demanding overtime pay—walked off the job, prompting the closure of two dozen stores in the region.
"It's like running a McDonald's with just one person," one pharmacist told The Kansas City Star.
Another CVS pharmacist told The Star that CVS relies on an " 'arbitrary algorithm' to determine how many technician hours each pharmacy deserves per week."
Like Walgreens, CVS appears to have conceded its errors. In an internal memo to employees CVS Chief Pharmacy Officer Prem Shah apologized and admitted that "we haven't addressed these concerns in the region more quickly."
"With the currently unprecedented demand for vaccinations from our patients in mind, we are taking a series of actions effective immediately," Shah told employees. He says the company has pledged to provide "additional resources" to stores, hiring more workers, and easing the workload on pharmacists.
CVS issued a statement saying "we're committed to providing access to consistent, safe, high-quality health care to the patients and communities we serve and are working with our pharmacists to directly address any concerns they may have."
"We're focused on developing a sustainable, scalable action plan to support both our pharmacists and our customers, that can be put in place in markets where support may be needed so we can continue delivering the high-quality care our patients depend on," the company says.
The CVS pharmacists' action garnered the support of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), which noted that "pharmacists who find themselves in situations where the welfare of others is in question should always pause, evaluate the situation, and take the steps necessary to ensure safe, optimal patient care."
APhA also warned that the overworked, understaffed, underpaid conditions pharmacy workers endure are also a common complaint across the healthcare sector.
"The issues that lead to suboptimal healthcare working environments are complex and are not unique to pharmacies," APhA says. "We see similar situations in physicians' offices, hospitals, and other practice settings. Our health care system needs change which leads to supporting the patient–provider (including the pharmacist provider) relationship."
The California Pharmacists Association was blunt, blaming CVS for a "massive prescription backlogs of its own making, in large part due to aggressive patient-steering tactics driven by its Pharmacy Benefit Manager company, CVS Caremark."
"Due to these practices, patients are increasingly being denied access to other community and independent pharmacies where their pharmacy needs could be met," CPhA says. "This cherry-picking of patients away from other pharmacies, coupled with persistent understaffing at its own pharmacies, along with unreasonable workloads, has caused the untenable situation that its pharmacists and patients face today."
What makes the pharmacists' walkout from the nation's two biggest drug chains particularly notable is that these pharmacy workers are not unionized. It would be safe to say that the typical pharmacist is hardly a labor radical, so this grassroots and desperate action on their own is as remarkable as it is difficult to coordinate.
But when nonunion workers feel compelled to conduct an organized protest, that's a signal that the dissatisfaction runs deep and wide and should not be ignored.
