Negotiated drug prices would force LTC pharmacists out of business, cost taxpayers billions, coalition says

DATE: November 20, 2025

By Kathleen Steele Gaivin | McKnight’s Senior Living

If Congress does not pass proposed legislation to address the cost to long-term pharmacies related to negotiated drug prices, it could cost taxpayers up to $4.8 billion in increased healthcare costs over the next decade, the Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition said this week.

The Preserving Patient Access to Long-Term Pharmacies Act, first put forth in August, would establish a $30 supply fee per Medicare Part D prescription in 2026 and 2027, although the proposed fee could increase in 2027 due to inflation. 

“Long-term care pharmacies are a lifeline for millions of seniors and their families,” Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) said in a statement earlier this year. “If we fail to act before Jan. 1, 2026, many of these pharmacies will be forced to close their doors, leaving nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and vulnerable patients without the care they rely on.”

Van Duyne called the legislation a “critical fix” that would allow long-term care pharmacies to continue.

The negotiated prices threaten the pharmacies because they differ from retail pharmacies and “must dispense drugs in special packaging, provide expert consultant services including medication management, and provide 24/7/365 prescription drugs and services to patients in LTC facilities,” SCPC said.

According to SCPC, the average long-term care pharmacy resident or patient takes 13 different prescription medications.

Sixty percent of nursing home and assisted living operators will close their pharmacies next year if the bill is not passed, 90% will lay off staff members and 80% will have to reduce services and increase charges to facilities and residents in 2026, according to the coalition. 

“Without this LTC pharmacy fix, patients in nursing homes will lose access to essential drugs and LTC pharmacy services and federal spending will increase more than the cost of fixing the problem,” SCPC President and CEO Alan Rosenbloom said. “Congress must pass the Preserving Patient Access to Long-Term Care Pharmacies Act now. It would be a win for patients, LTC facilities and pharmacies, and American taxpayers.”

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