The pharmacy chain Rite Aid is closing all of its stores in Michigan. Rite Aid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year, amid lawsuits over its alleged role in the country's opioid crisis. In addition, the store has struggled with slumping sales.
In a statement from a company spokesperson, Rite Aid said all of its Michigan stores were listed on its bankruptcy docket. The company has been closing stores in waves for months.
According to the company website, there are still 170 stores left in the state.
Rite Aid said customers' prescriptions will be transferred to Walgreens.
In addition, according to a notice Rite Aid submitted to workforce development authorities, the company will shutter a distribution center in Pontiac. The move will affect 191 workers.
Rite Aid's exit from Michigan comes as concerns over pharmacy deserts — areas in which crucial medicine is not readily available — grow.
Pharmacists say it's an industry-wide issue: pharmacies are struggling because of low reimbursement payments from intermediaries between drugmakers and pharmacies, called pharmacy benefit managers. Those low reimbursements, they say, force companies to sell drugs for a loss, or at a high markup.
