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Board of Pharmacy considers fee waivers and other steps to address growing pharmacy deserts, blames payer practices for closures
Summary
Legislators questioned the board about pharmacy closures and access gaps. The board said it will seek statutory authority to waive fees for pharmacies that remain open in underserved areas and highlighted payer reimbursement practices as a major cause of closures.
Lawmakers pressed the California State Board of Pharmacy on pharmacy closures and growing "pharmacy deserts" during the joint sunset review. Assemblymember (Doctor) Jackson asked whether the board tracks shortages and what interventions it plans.
Seung Oh, president of the board, said one option under discussion is a targeted fee waiver program. "One area that we are looking at is the possibility of having a pharmacy application fee as well as renewal fee waived as long as the pharmacy is maintaining that business in the desert area," Oh said, and he added that the board believes statutory change will be required to give the board authority to waive fees under specified conditions.
Oh and other board officials also pointed to payer behavior — including reimbursement clawbacks and unsustainable contracting practices — as a driver of pharmacy closures. "We believe that there are some unfair payer practices that are also resulting in pharmacy closures," a board executive officer said.
Assemblymember Pilar (Closa) and others described recent closures in Los Angeles and their impacts on seniors and other vulnerable residents and said they would follow up with the board for district‑specific data. Committee chairs and board members emphasized the hearing was informational and that the board and legislature would continue to pursue options to improve access.
No formal policy changes or votes were taken at the hearing.
