NuCara Pharmacy in Traer, which for a long time was Wright Pharmacy, is closing forever today. The NuCara pharmacies in Conrad, Ackley, and Zearing are also closing.
This is not, or at least not directly, related to Traer’s loss of the doctor’s office kitty-corner from the pharmacy last year. In fact, there’s a new tenant moving into the clinic in the next few weeks. Instead, it’s related to the pharmacy’s owner 1) being sold to the owner of Medicap Pharmacy and/or 2) being sued by the state of Iowa for $22 million.
According to the North Tama Telegraph story, the chain is blaming pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) for low reimbursement rates. According to an Iowa Capital Dispatch story two weeks ago, “the State of Iowa alleges the company has repeatedly failed to make millions in monthly payments due to the state under a contract with the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.”