Independent pharmacists across the U.S. are stockpiling generic drugs as they brace for potential price hikes and supply disruptions following President Donald Trump’s threat to impose an additional tariff on pharmaceuticals, NPR and KFF Health News reported May 13.
In Salt Lake City, pharmacist Ben Jolley has stocked six months’ worth of the most expensive larger prescription bottles, hoping to shield his pharmacy from the 10% across-the-board tariffs President Trump announced in April.
“I understand the rationale for tariffs. I’m not sure that we’re gonna do it the right way,” Mr. Jolley told KFF Health News. “And I am definitely sure that it’s going to raise the price that I pay my suppliers.”
Scott Pace, pharmacist and co-owner of Kavanaugh Pharmacy in Little Rock, Ark., has started stocking up on the drugs his pharmacy dispenses the most to handle the price fluctuations.
“I’ve identified the top 200 generics in my store, and I have basically put 90 days’ worth of those on the shelf just as a starting point,” he said. “Those are the diabetes drugs, the blood pressure medicines, the antibiotics — those things that I know folks will be sicker without.”
Pharmacists warned that even a modest price increase like 30 cents a vial could be devastating for small businesses that already operate on “razor-thin margins” and can’t pass the costs on to patients due to fixed reimbursements from insurers and pharmacy benefit managers.
