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Pharmacies in Minnesota are closing their doors because of lower reimbursement rates for prescription drugs and dwindling profit margins — especially for pharmacies with a large customer base on public insurance. 

This lack of access creates problems, but some small towns are finding possible solutions by working together to get medications delivered right to their doorstep. 

Dave Wendorff, 61, of Winthrop receives his prescriptions in a pink paper bag from Lotus Pharmacy in the assisted living facility where he lives. Part-time driver Mike McDougall arrives in a hot pink SUV with Wendorff’s medication in a hot pink bag. 

“That really blew my mind,” Wendorff said. “I thought ‘Holy cow.’ Well, my nurse that does my pills for me, she said ‘them cars are so cool looking. I said, ‘but they’re pink!’ ‘I know,’ she said, ‘I like pink.’” 

Winthrop is one of eight Minnesota cities which lost their only pharmacy since January 2023 according to the Minnesota Pharmacists Association. An association representative said this puts those communities at risk of becoming a so-called “pharmacy desert.” 

It's a term describing a geographic area where residents have to travel a certain distance to get to the nearest pharmacy. In urban areas it is one mile. For rural areas the Minnesota Department of Health uses 15 miles. 

An MDH survey in 2024 found half a million Minnesotans live in pharmacy deserts, and many more are in areas at risk of receiving that designation as a result of the closure of a single pharmacy. 

Now, Plymouth-based Lotus Pharmacy fills the gaps in Winthrop by delivering prescriptions every day. Wendorff said they’re a lifesaver. He expects his pink prescription bottles regularly. 

“Them pills?” Wendorff said. “Yes, if it wouldn’t be for them pills, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Lotus Pharmacy is a woman-owned company that began working in Winthrop delivering meds to assisted living and independent living residents after the town’s pharmacy closed. 

CEO Jill Lytwyn said things changed after one fateful interaction when on the way out of Winthrop when she pulled over by the police. The officer asked what they were doing in town and after Lytywn explained, what the officer asked next surprised her.

“‘Would you be able to help the community?’” Lytywn recalled. “The community here is struggling because they’re losing a pharmacy that was such an integral part of our town and helping the residents here.’ So, we said, ‘Sure, we could entertain some discussions on that and how that could work.’”

Lytwyn said Lotus Pharmacy met with city administrator Michael Looft and then attended several city council meetings. Eventually, a network of volunteers came together and created delivery points for pick-up. 

It’s a grassroots effort, Lytwyn added. They’re hoping to help other communities too that also felt the effects of losing their pharmacies. 

“If you can come together, you have the right stakeholders, they have the passion for what they’re doing,” she said. “There’s a lot of creativity out there to make sure that people are getting their medications and the health services that they need.”

Pharmacies have been closing across the U.S. for years. This despite a growing demand for services and filling more prescriptions than ever. Some 32 pharmacies in Minnesota shut down between 2023 and 2024. They ranged from family-owned to chain-operated pharmacies. 

They’re closing because of changing customer trends, lower reimbursement rates for prescription drugs and increased competition from online retailers.

It’s a budget year at the state Legislature, and Jason Miller of the Minnesota Pharmacists Association said the organization is lobbying for changes. 

“We’re hoping for some reform so that we can get fair reimbursement, so businesses can stay operational and profitable in an environment that’s healthy for patients, healthy for employees, healthy for the healthcare system,” Miller said. “So, we want to get back to that place where it feels good to provide care again.” 

Mike McDougall retired three years ago, but he ended up taking a part-time job with Lotus Pharmacy delivering medications to patients.  

“It kind of gave me a little bit of sense of purpose,” McDougall said. “I think it’s important. I think I’m doing something positive. A lot of these people can’t get to any place to pick [medications] up. So, they need somebody to bring those meds to them, and they can do that through us pretty easily.”

For now, communities are figuring out how to get what they need. In Winthrop things seem to be working for Dave Wendorff. Even if he’s a little unsure about all that pink, he’s happy to find something that replaced what was lost. 

“Without having a pharmacy here in town, if there was one here in town, they would save your life,” Wendorff said. “But, what can you do? There’s nothing you can do. That’s why I got Lotus as mine, and they’re good. I could never find better.”

Correction (Feb. 13, 2025): An earlier version of this story misspelled Mike McDougall’s last name in some photo captions. The above story has been updated.

Correction (March 24, 2025): An earlier version of this story misstated the definition of a pharmacy desert in Minnesota and incorrectly identified eight cities as being in deserts. The above story has been updated.

Hannah Yang

Author

Some Minnesota pharmacies are closing their doors because of lower reimbursement rates for prescription drugs and dwindling profit margins — especially for pharmacies with a large customer base on public insurance. 

Mobile pharmacy brings meds to Winthrop customers after losing brick and mortar store

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