WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Local pharmacies in Kansas face challenges that are reducing their profits and, in some cases, forcing them to close completely.
Pharmacy owners say a practice called white bagging is being used in a way that’s putting smaller pharmacies out of business.
Decades ago, insurance companies started working with middlemen called pharmacy benefit managers or PBMs.
PBMs have quite a bit of control over designating when to use a practice called white bagging.
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White bagging occurs when a patient isn’t allowed to order medication; instead, a medical provider must do it.
The medication must also be from the pharmacy the insurance company tells them to buy it from.
When used too often, local pharmacy owners say white bagging undercuts business and harms patients.
When AuBurn Pharmacy owner Mike Burns was diagnosed with colon cancer, chemotherapy was one of his treatments.
One of the medications he needed could commonly be found in a pharmacy.