NCPA report shows ‘ominous amount of pressure’ 

COLUMBUS – Independent pharmacy represented a $94.9 billion marketplace in 2023, with gross profit margin falling to 19.7%, its lowest point in the 10-year lookback window of the NCPA Digest. This reflects factors like low or below-cost third-party reimbursements and inflation (which showed up in wages and overhead costs), according to the NCPA. Other highlights from the 2024 NCPA Digest include: 

• Independent community pharmacies represent 35% of all retail pharmacies in the United States. 
• The estimated number of independent community pharmacies has declined, falling to 18,984 locations in June of 2024 from 19,432 the year prior. This represents a loss of more than one independent pharmacy per day.  
• In 2023, the average prescription volume was 59,644 per store, a decrease from the 59,758 prescriptions dispensed in 2022. 
• Eighty-three percent of prescriptions at independent pharmacies are filled with a generic drug. This number trended down, perhaps in part due to the exploding popularity of GLP-1 agonists, a category with no generics on the market. 
• Government programs continued accounting for more than half of all prescriptions sold in independent community pharmacies, with 55% of total prescriptions covered by the Medicare Part D and Medicaid programs, combined. 

“The NCPA Digest serves as an annual barometer for independent pharmacy, and this year’s is showing an ominous amount of pressure in the industry,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey, pharmacist, MBA. “With independent pharmacies closing at a rate of more than one each day since last year, the report lays bare the ramifications of low and negative reimbursements for GLP-1s and other drugs, no longer countered by tax incentives and revenue earned from offerings related to COVID-19. Whether through other immunizations or services like long-term care, having a successful business increasingly relies on diversifying and bringing in different types of revenue. With the turbulence we’re seeing in independent and chain pharmacy alike, there’s a dire need to fix the broken pharmacy payment model. We’re continuing that fight, armed with NCPA Digest data and the goal of healthier pharmacies and patients.”