The pharmacy at the Rancho Mirage Gelson’s Markets is closed as of Monday, according to a Gelson’s spokesperson.
“Gelson’s has reached the difficult decision to discontinue operating the pharmacy at our Rancho Mirage store,” read a statement from the company. “We understand this can be disruptive and how important healthcare information and, particularly information about prescriptions is, to our pharmacy customers.”
Here’s what you need to know about the pharmacy closure.
Why is the pharmacy closing?
Gelson’s said in a statement that “Over the last 3-4 years, due to impacts from escalating costs and lower reimbursements from insurance providers and third-party benefits managers, the pharmacy business continues to be unprofitable and we do not see a pathway to improve those prospects.”
A Gelson’s pharmacy in Del Mar is closing for similar reasons.
Will the Gelson’s store in Rancho Mirage close, too?
The company stated that the Rancho Mirage store is not closing at this time, and that employees “look forward to serving customers for many years to come.”
“We want to assure residents in the Coachella Valley this is not a reflection of the store’s operations or our connection to the community we serve. Importantly, we are proud of the fantastic job our Pharmacy Team has done in taking excellent care of our customers’ healthcare and pharmaceutical needs and we are working to help them with their transition,” the statement continued. “Over the course of the next several months, the vacated pharmacy space will be remerchandised to better serve the needs of customers.”
What should customers who pick up prescriptions at this location do?
A Gelson’s spokesperson said customers’ medical and prescription data is being transferred to Rite-Aid for “minimal disruption in continuity for filling medications.
There are several Rite-Aid locations in the Coachella Valley, including in Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indio, Palm Desert and Palm Springs.
What is the state of grocery store pharmacies?
Gelson’s is not the first grocery store to make the decision to close its pharmacy. Stater Brothers and northern California retailer Save Mart shuttered their pharmacies in 2018 and 2022, respectively.
Additionally, a Wall Street Journal article from 2020 outlined many of the issues that supermarkets have with their pharmacies in recent years, including fewer customers getting prescriptions from their locations, challenges in receiving competitive reimbursement rates on drugs and the popularity of bigger drugstore chains such as CVS and Walgreens.