MN pharmacy closures accelerating, report warns of 'pharmacy desert' increase

Inflated drug costs creating 'Pharmacy deserts'

Pharmacy benefit managers are being blamed for "pharmacy deserts" being left across Minnesota as inflating drug costs squeeze out small-town pharmacies. FOX 9's Kelcey Carlson has the full story.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A 2026 report from the nonprofit Minnesota Independent Pharmacists warns that pharmacy closures are accelerating across the state, leading to an increase in "pharmacy deserts" that lack adequate access to medications and essential health services. 

READ MORE: Healthcare insurance companies blamed for 'pharmacy deserts' in Minnesota

Minnesota Pharmacy Access Report 

By the numbers:

The report, titled "2026 State of the Indy," shows six Minnesota independent pharmacies closed in 2025, with three closing in 2026 so far. 

The 2025 closures include:

• Baron’s Pharmacy (Hibbing)
• First Choice Pharmacy (Belle Plaine)
• Guidepoint #108 (Nisswa)
• Lake Crystal Pharmacy (Lake Crystal)
• West Seventh Pharmacy (St. Paul)
• Sterling Drug (Austin)

The 2026 closures so far include:

• Thrifty White (Westbrook)
• Baron’s Pharmacy (Hibbing)
• GuidePoint Pharmacy (Redwood Falls)

The report adds that about 44% of the state's pharmacies have closed in the last decade, with almost 60% of those being independent pharmacies.

There are currently 123 verified independent pharmacies in the state.

A total of nine Minnesota cities have lost their only pharmacy since 2023, including Avon, Clarkfield, Clearbrook, Menahga, Motley, New London, Nisswa and Westbrook.

What they're saying:

Executive Director of Minnesota Independent Pharmacists Hildie Hoeschen shared the following statements:

"This year’s State of the Indy Report confirms what patients and pharmacists are seeing every day—the situation is getting worse, not better. Every closure leaves seniors driving farther, families waiting longer, and people going without the medications they need. This is a full-blown access crisis with connections to the systems-level issues currently plaguing our national health system.

"Local pharmacies are being forced to operate underwater if they want to continue caring for their patients, while corporate middlemen are reaping record profits to the tune of billions. This is not a free market—it’s a rigged system that is wiping out community healthcare, putting profits over the American people."

Secretary and Treasurer of Minnesota Independent Pharmacists and owner of Elko New Market Family Pharmacy shared the following statement:

"This isn’t about special treatment—it’s about fairness. We’re asking for a level playing field so that patients can keep their local pharmacy and pharmacists can stay in business. Pharmacies provide vaccinations, medication counseling, chronic-disease management, and everyday healthcare that prevents serious illness. When pharmacies disappear, medication non-adherence rises, particularly among seniors, leading to higher healthcare costs and poorer outcomes. Additionally, when communities lose pharmacies, taxpayers and the system at large end up paying more through higher emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and worse health outcomes." 

The backstory:

Minnesota had 406 independent pharmacies in 2012. That number has been whittled down to just 156 today.

In Minnesota, it is illegal for a PBM to require a patient to use a pharmacy that it owns. CVS Caremark was fined $1.5 million in 2022 for requiring members to use their own pharmacies to get maintenance drugs for conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce said it contributed to the growing number of "pharmacy deserts" across the state.

"In some cases, those members had to drive 20 to 130 miles to get to a CVS store rather than refill a medication at a non-CVS pharmacy," said Jaqueline Olson, the Assistant Commissioner of Enforcement at the Department of Commerce.

CVS Caremark settled the case for $500,000.