Medicare Part D Preferred Pharmacy Networks And The Risk For Pharmacy Closure, 2014-23.

Medicare Part D plans incentivize the use of specific pharmacies through preferred networks. We found that independent pharmacies and pharmacies in low-income, Black, and Latinx neighborhoods were less likely to be preferred by most Part D plans than chains and pharmacies in other neighborhoods. Pharmacies that were not preferred by most plans were 70-350 percent more likely to close than other pharmacies.