Deer Isle drugstore to close after sale

STONINGTON – After months of struggling to deal with cuts in state reimbursements, the owner of Island Pharmacy has announced that his business will be sold to the Rite Aid chain and the local store will be closed.

Kevin Clancy began notifying customers of his decision Monday, promising to make the transition from a local pharmacy to Rite Aid a smooth one. With the in-town business gone, island patients will have to travel to Blue Hill, a 50-mile round trip, to fill their prescriptions.

“Island Pharmacy just ran out of money,” Clancy said Monday. “The state had promised us a couple of things but did not follow through fast enough to help us.”

In February, after evaluating the impact of recent state cuts in reimbursements, Clancy notified the Department of Human Services that he would no longer fill several state-funded prescriptions. He anticipated then that the local pharmacy, which fills about 300 prescriptions a week, would close by midsummer.

“The business could not survive with or without the state programs,” he wrote in a message provide to customers on Monday. “Deer Isle is a contained patient population that does not increase and reimbursement for services is continuing to steadily shrink.

“Although the state indicated an intention to work with me to relieve the effects of devastating cuts to pharmacy reimbursement, the process proved too slow and additional cuts (mail order) have already been added to those Island Pharmacy could not survive.”

In February, state officials announced a plan to set up a bulk-purchasing alliance in an effort to reduce drug prices for independent pharmacies. They also announced a pilot program to support lone pharmacies in rural communities.

Although he initially had high hopes, Clancy said the programs never materialized. He’d heard nothing about the programs through the spring, and soon realized that things were happening too slowly to help his situation.

“At that point, our options were limited,” he said.

Trish Riley, director of the state Office of Health Policy and Financing, said she was disappointed by Clancy’s decision.

“We were well on our way to developing a plan that would help,” Riley said Monday. “But that takes time. We had to go through rule making and check with the federal government. I understand his need to make a business decision, but it’s still disappointing.”

Riley said her office would continue to work with local legislators to ensure that the island communities continued to receive pharmacy service.

The sale to Rite Aid ensures that his patient files will be taken care of and that local patients will be able to continue to receive uninterrupted service at the Blue Hill Rite Aid location. In addition, Clancy has accepted a position at the Blue Hill store and will work with the chain to provide delivery service on the island.

“Rite Aid has committed to sending me down to the island to set up a central location where we can get medications to people so they don’t have to drive off island,” he said. “We’re doing whatever we can to make this change as seamless as possible.”

Rite Aid spokeswoman Jody Cook said the company was committed to providing convenient service to the island and confirmed the plan to provide delivery service, noting that the plan has not been developed yet.

“We’re still working on the details,” Cook said Monday. “We’re looking at a delivery system and a few other options to get patients their prescriptions without having to come to the [Blue Hill] pharmacy for every visit.”