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In Tennessee, lawmakers are advancing the FAIR Rx Act (SB 2040/HB 1959), a legislative effort aimed at dismantling pharmacy monopolies by prohibiting pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from owning or controlling retail pharmacies. The bill directly targets vertically integrated healthcare giants like CVS Health, which owns the Caremark PBM, the CVS retail pharmacy chain, and the health insurer Aetna. In response, CVS has forecasted that the bill’s passage would affect access, forcing the closure of all 134 of its Tennessee pharmacies, which also includes approximately 25 MinuteClinics. For urgent care operators in the market, this legislative proposal represents a potential disruption. Should CVS exit the market, Tennessee urgent care operators could easily see a sudden surge in patient volume as consumers seek new sources for immediate care. The state’s Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee passed SB 2040 by a vote of 8-1. Bills with similar provisions are also up for consideration in several other states.
Plan ahead: “If the FAIR Rx Act forces vertically integrated giants like CVS to shutter their MinuteClinics across Tennessee, it will create an immediate vacuum for low-acuity, walk-in services,” says Alan Ayers, President of Urgent Care Consultants and Senior Editor of JUCM. “Urgent care operators in the state must proactively adapt their staffing and throughput models now to absorb a potential surge in patient volume and ensure these communities don’t lose access to essential, everyday care.”