HealthPartners to close all retail pharmacies in 2020, eliminating 300 employees

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - HealthPartners announced it is closing all of its Minnesota and western Wisconsin retail pharmacies in 2020.

The Bloomington-based business said it will shutter 30 retail pharmacies located within HealthPartners, Park Nicollet, Central Minnesota and Stillwater Medical Group clinics. The organization’s mail-order pharmacy operations will also cease.

About 300 positions will be eliminated as a result of the closure, including 100 pharmacists.

All of the closures will be in effect by April 1, 2020, with Park Nicollet, Central Minnesota and Stillwater Medical Group clinic pharmacies closing Jan. 20.

As for HealthPartners customers, Senior VP of Pharmacy and Business Development Scott Schnuckle said the company will be “working closely with our patients ahead of this transition to ensure they will continue to have convenient access to the prescription medications they need.”

According to HealthPartners, its specialty, infusion and hospital pharmacies will continue to operate, along with health plan pharmacy management and medication therapy management services.

Schnuckle cited changing “consumer preferences and pharmacy economics,” as part of the reason why the clinics will close. He said the trends favor larger-scale organizations that offer things like extended hours and drive-thrus. 

“Like others preceding us in our market, we’ve made the difficult decision to exit our retail pharmacy operation,” he added.