Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - With Rite Aid closing 73 locations in Western New York, some residents are beginning to think about where they're going to go next.
On Monday, Rite Aid announced it will sell all 178 of its New York locations after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in less than two years.
"This is a place where my wife and I used to get our prescription. So I'm just gonna go check and make sure we don't have anything pending here. And after that, we'll just move off to the next place. It's unfortunate, but mostly it's just a pharmacy that we cater to," stated one resident.
Debbie, who was shopping at a Rite Aid in Niagara Falls, says she doesn't know what she's going to do.
"I've been here for over 40 years, and that's going to make a big difference on me, and I don't even know where to go, which drug store to even go to because of my health insurance. A lot of them don't take it, and they take it here," explained Debbie. "I have a lot of medical issues. My granddaughter has a lot of medical issues, and so we need medicine all the time. So I hope there's someplace close that I don't have to drive out of town for it."
However, Stephen Giroux with Wurlitzer Family Pharmacy says that's not only illegal, but also a common lie big corporations like to tell people.
"New York State did finally pass some limited pharmacy benefit manager reforms a few years ago. They've implemented an enforcement arm of the Department of Financial Services called the PBM Bureau, and they're supposed to investigate all of those allegations. But, it is illegal for pharmacy benefit managers to exclude pharmacies that are willing to participate. It's also illegal for them to charge a different amount at different pharmacies. The price, the co-pay is supposed to be the same, by law, no matter what pharmacy the patient chooses, and it should be the patient's choice, not the insurance companies dictate." explained Giroux. " Basically, we've found that these big monopolies tell lies, and they tell people that they have to go certain places when they really don't."