“It’s just been the best thing that’s ever happened.”
That is how Yvonne Donavon, a retired nurse in her 60s, described her experience with the newly opened CareArc Pharmacy.
Donavon had been struggling to pay for blood thinners, a medication that was essential for her to live safely. Donavon has Factor V Leiden, a genetic mutation that increases blood clot risk. If untreated, the mutation can develop deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, which can be deadly.
Normally, the medication would cost her anywhere from $500 to $800 for a 90-day supply. Even after switching to a higher-cost supplemental insurance for prescriptions, she was not meeting her deductibles, leading to high out-of-pocket costs that put a hard strain on her fixed income.
“I was getting desperate. I didn’t know what I was going to do,” said Donavon. “I don’t think I could have stayed where I’m living.”
After months of stress and anxiety about her income and how else she could cut back on expenses while staying on her essential medicine, she was told by CareArc about their new pharmacy that had opened in October.
Donavon had been receiving care from CareArc for the last year and was told by her provider that the new pharmacy could potentially save her hundreds of dollars on her medication.
Nothing could have prepared her when she heard the total of her medication at the pharmacy. What had once cost her hundreds of dollars and led her to consider having to move away now costed $6.36.
The cost-saving method
As a safety-net healthcare provider, CareArc qualifies for the 340B Drug Discount Program.
The program, created by Congress in 1992, allows clinics and hospitals that are federal grantees like CareArc to buy outpatient drugs from manufacturers at significantly discounted prices.
Unlike most other assistance programs, qualification for 340B is not based on income or insurance. Anyone who is a CareArc patient and fills a prescription at their pharmacy is eligible, whether they are uninsured or have extensive coverage.
This program is what allows people like Yvonne to see hundreds of dollars of savings on her medication. Staff at the pharmacy say this has led to numerous moments of people who can’t believe the new price of their medication.
“They have this little bit of a stunned look on their face sometimes,” said Melissa Jackson, Pharmacist In Charge (PIC). “Some people are getting three or four medications and they say, ‘I used to pay more than that for one medication where I was going before. This is great.’”
The need for a pharmacy
Austin Hoagland/Gazette
CareArc had considered the creation of an in-house pharmacy for a long time, but several factors accelerated the timeline on its construction.
The first actually has to do with the 340B program itself. While in the past, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) allowed health entities to use multiple contract pharmacies, such as Walgreens and CVS, to dispense 340B discounted medications, around 2020, several large drug manufacturers began making restrictions on how they would ship the discounted drugs.
The biggest of these changes was that health entities would now only be allowed one contracted pharmacy for 340B discounted drugs.
“The manufacturers are greedy, and like any business, they want to keep as much money as possible,” said CareArc Risk Manager Neil Dean. “Limiting us to one contract pharmacy greatly restricted our ability to serve our patients.”
When CareArc had another site in Eureka, they were unable to contract a pharmacy in the area due to the restrictions. That spurred the administration at CareArc to think about how a pharmacy that was operated and controlled by them would simplify the process for their patients.
The plans for the pharmacy were taking shape, but one last major event brought the idea to life. In December 2023, Graves Pharmacy announced that it would be closing. The local pharmacy had served many members of the community. The prescriptions were transferred to Walgreens, where CareArc noticed there was a gap in service.
“They had to pay more when they went to Walgreens, and also they didn’t feel like they got the same service that they were getting at Graves,” said Dean.
Plans moved forward for the CareArc Pharmacy, and it officially soft-opened in October 2025.
Changing outcomes
Austin Hoagland/Gazette
Yvonne Donovan says that she is telling everyone she knows how much the pharmacy helped her.
“I’m passing the word as much as I can, because it really is that significant,” she said. “When you’ve got an extra $200 or $300 a month every three months… I mean, it added up a lot.”
CareArc has been working behind the scenes since the pharmacy’s soft opening to cover most insurances.
Now, the pharmacy will advance towards its grand opening, with staff already aware of the impact that the building has had so far.