Tax on Prescription Drugs Making Life Harder for Oregon Pharmacies

Though most businesses can pass Oregon's Corporate Activity Tax along in the prices for their goods or services, pharmacies are prohibited from doing so by their contracts with insurance companies, Medicare, Medicaid and pharmacy benefit managers. Andrew Milligan/PA

Squeezed by staffing shortages, declining reimbursement rates, and industry consolidation, community pharmacies across the nation are being shuttered at an alarming rate, sending patients scrambling to fill prescriptions while pharmacists experience dangerous burnout.

In 2019 there were 21,683 community pharmacies operating primarily in smaller markets across the United States, according to the National Community Pharmacists Association.