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Here’s where your Rite Aid prescriptions might end up as stores prepare to close

CVS has agreed to buy the bulk of the chain’s pharmacy assets. If approved, CVS would acquire the prescription files for 625 stores, including some in Pa., N.J., and Del.

A shuttered Rite Aid in Grays Ferry sat empty in November 2023. The approximately 100 remaining Rite Aids in the Philadelphia region are set to close or be sold soon. The Philly-based pharmacy chain has entered into agreements with CVS, Walgreens, and other companies for the acquisition of their prescription files and other pharmacy assets.
A shuttered Rite Aid in Grays Ferry sat empty in November 2023. The approximately 100 remaining Rite Aids in the Philadelphia region are set to close or be sold soon. The Philly-based pharmacy chain has entered into agreements with CVS, Walgreens, and other companies for the acquisition of their prescription files and other pharmacy assets. Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

Some Philly-area Rite Aid customers may soon have their prescriptions transferred to nearby CVS or Walgreens stores as local Rite Aids prepare to close their doors for good.

Earlier this month, the long-beleaguered pharmacy chain, which is headquartered in the Navy Yard, filed for bankruptcy for the second time in less than two years. The company announced that it would wind down operations at its more than 1,000 stores nationwide, including approximately 100 in the Philadelphia region.

As part of the sale process, Rite Aid executives on Thursday said they had entered into agreements to transfer prescription files and other pharmacy assets to several local and national companies.

“A key priority for Rite Aid is to ensure that as many of our loyal customers as possible continue to receive the pharmacy services and care they require without interruption,” Rite Aid CEO Matt Schroeder said in a statement. “These agreements ensure our pharmacy customers will experience a smooth transition while preserving jobs for some of our valued team members.”

» READ MORE: What Rite Aid pharmacy customers can expect as stores begin to close

If the agreements are approved, company executives said it would be a “rolling” process during which Rite Aid stores would remain open for script refills, vaccinations, and other pharmacy services. Stores are expected to start closing in early June.

CVS has agreed to purchase the prescription files of the majority of closing Rite Aids. If approved by a federal bankruptcy judge, the Rhode Island-based chain would take on the scripts from 625 pharmacies across 15 states, according to a statement from CVS. Those would include prescriptions from “select Rite Aid stores” in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, according to CVS spokesperson Amy Thibault.

“We’re well-positioned to serve our existing customers and patients, as well as those who may be transitioning to us from Rite Aid and are excited to introduce them to our best-in-class front store and pharmacy offerings if the transaction is approved,” CVS executives said in a statement.

» READ MORE: Some Rite Aid shelves remained bare even after the company emerged from the first bankruptcy

Walgreens was also among the national retailers that agreed to buy pharmacy assets from closing Rite Aids.

“Walgreens is pleased to have reached an agreement with Rite Aid to acquire prescription files across several states from select Rite Aid pharmacy locations, subject to customary closing conditions,” a Walgreens spokesperson said in a statement. They declined to say whether those states included Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or Delaware.

Rite Aid declined to disclose where exactly prescriptions from specific Philly-area stores would be transferred as they await court approval of the sales. A hearing is scheduled for next week.

Several Rite Aid pharmacy customers said they had yet to hear from their stores regarding next steps.

In recent years, as Rite Aid cut its regional footprint by about 40%, the company has mailed letters to customers and put up signs in stores ahead of closures. Prescriptions were automatically transferred to nearby Rite Aid locations or sent to other locations at patients’ requests.

In this case, however, the Rite Aid scripts and other pharmacy assets are being sold.

A single pharmacy’s prescription file can cost between $100,000 and more than $1 million depending on the number of customers and types of prescriptions, Michael Blackburn, executive vice president at RetailStat, told The Inquirer last month. The terms of Rite Aid’s agreements were not disclosed.

If customers want to transfer prescriptions to a different pharmacy, they typically have to contact their Rite Aid directly.

» READ MORE: What happens after a Philly neighborhood’s last chain pharmacy shuts its doors

Rite Aid has not announced any store acquisitions in the Philadelphia area, but CVS agreed to buy 64 Rite Aid stores in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, pending court approval. According to court documents, Rite Aid’s non-pharmacy assets are set to be auctioned no later than June 20.

This week, CVS and Walgreens have publicly encouraged Rite Aid employees, thousands of which are expected to be laid off just in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, to apply for open positions at their stores.

Said CVS executives in a statement: “Once the sale is finalized, we look forward to welcoming Rite Aid colleagues who are interested in applying to join the CVS team.”