Walgreens Boots Alliance announced plans to close 1,200 stores as part of what the company calls its Footprint Optimization Program, disclosed alongside fiscal-year results for the period ended Aug. 31, 2024. The announcement landed on Oct. 15, 2024, the same day the company filed its earnings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For the millions of seniors who pick up prescriptions at Walgreens locations across the country, the closures raise an urgent question: will their pharmacy still be there when they need their next refill?
Why 1,200 Walgreens closures hit Medicare Part D patients hardest
Walgreens had previously flagged a portion of its locations as underperforming, but the scale of the cuts now dwarfs earlier signals. The company framed the program as a financial reset after reporting weak results for the quarter and fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2024, according to its SEC disclosure. Retail pharmacy margins have been squeezed for years, and a major factor is the power of pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, the middlemen that negotiate drug prices between insurers and pharmacies. The Federal Trade Commission released an interim PBM analysis in July 2024, documenting how concentrated market power among these firms affects pharmacy reimbursement rates and, by extension, drug access and affordability.
Seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D plans are especially exposed. Each Part D plan contracts with a specific network of pharmacies, and many plans designate certain locations as “preferred” pharmacies where copays are lowest. When a preferred Walgreens closes, a beneficiary who switches to a non-preferred or out-of-network pharmacy could face higher out-of-pocket costs on every prescription, even if the medication and dosage stay the same. Official Medicare guidance on pharmacies underscores how network status and preferred cost sharing determine what beneficiaries pay at the counter.
In practical terms, that means a closure can turn a routine trip into a financial and logistical headache. A senior who has filled prescriptions at the same Walgreens for years may suddenly need to transfer medications, re-establish synchronization of multiple refills, and navigate unfamiliar copays. For those with limited mobility, unreliable transportation, or caregiving responsibilities, the added friction can lead to delayed fills or skipped doses, especially for chronic conditions like hypertension or diabetes.
The hypothesis that these closures will push more Part D volume toward mail-order fulfillment is plausible but unproven. CMS publishes quarterly prescription-drug event files broken down by pharmacy type, and those datasets would be the place to detect such a shift over the next 12 months. No public data yet confirms the trend, and the specific number of Medicare Part D beneficiaries filling prescriptions at the 1,200 targeted stores has not been disclosed by Walgreens or CMS. Until those numbers emerge, any predictions about how seniors will redistribute their prescriptions remain speculative.
What the SEC filing and FTC report reveal about the closures
The Oct. 15 Form 8-K ties the store-closure plan directly to the company’s financial performance. Walgreens reported results for both the full fiscal year and the fourth quarter ended Aug. 31, 2024, and the Footprint Optimization Program was presented as a forward-looking restructuring effort designed to shed costs and concentrate investment in better-performing assets. The filing notes that management expects to incur charges related to lease terminations, asset impairments, and employee severance as part of the program. However, it does not break out which locations will close, when each will shut its doors, or how many pharmacy customers will be displaced, leaving patients and local officials to wait for location-specific announcements.
The FTC’s July 2024 interim report on PBMs provides structural context. It found that the three largest PBMs control a substantial share of prescription claims processing, giving them significant leverage over reimbursement terms for retail pharmacies. According to the staff’s findings, PBMs can steer patients toward affiliated mail-order or specialty pharmacies through plan design and network rules, while independent and chain pharmacies alike face reimbursement rates that may not fully cover their dispensing costs. This dynamic helps explain why even a national chain like Walgreens is closing hundreds of outlets: when reimbursement is tight and volume is fragmented, marginal stores become harder to sustain.
For Medicare beneficiaries, the interplay between PBM contracting and Walgreens’ footprint matters because PBMs help determine which pharmacies are in-network for Part D plans and on what terms. If PBMs respond to the closures by further consolidating preferred networks around a smaller set of chains or their own affiliated pharmacies, seniors could see fewer brick-and-mortar options within a reasonable distance. Conversely, if competing pharmacies move quickly to sign network agreements and absorb displaced patients, local access gaps might narrow over time, though not without short-term disruption.
How seniors and communities can respond
With store lists still undisclosed, the most immediate step for Medicare Part D enrollees is vigilance during the annual open enrollment period. Beneficiaries should verify whether nearby pharmacies remain in-network and preferred for their current or prospective plans, and consider switching plans if a closure would otherwise leave them reliant on higher-cost options. Local health departments, senior centers, and advocacy groups can play a role by helping residents review plan materials and understand the implications of pharmacy network changes.
Communities facing multiple closures may also need to coordinate with remaining pharmacies to manage sudden increases in prescription volume, staffing needs, and wait times. While federal regulators continue to scrutinize PBM practices and their impact on pharmacy viability, the immediate burden of adaptation will fall on patients, caregivers, and local providers navigating a leaner Walgreens footprint.
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