Winn-Dixie closing all pharmacies, transferring prescriptions ahead of Aldi merger

Winn-Dixie is getting out of the pharmacy game.

The grocery chain said Friday that all prescriptions filed will be transferred to certain CVS and Walgreens locations by the end of 2023,

a spokesperson for parent company Southeastern Grocers Inc. confirmed: "There's no set date at this time, but customers can be assured that "nothing changes today." These impacts are industry-wide and do not just affect Florida Blue members"

Summary Southeastern Grocers announced in September they will sell Winn-Dixie and Harveys grocery chains to Aldi in the first quarter of 2024. Winn-Dixie and Harveys have sold their pharmacy businesses to Walgreens and CVS.

Aldi does not have a pharmacy business, so all the pharmacies in Winn-Dixie and Harveys have been closed effective November 30, 2023.

Winn-Dixie, CVS, and Walgreens have each sent letters to our members to let them know their prescriptions were transferred.

Details Florida Blue Commercial and Medicare members are able to go to either Walgreens or CVS and shouldn’t have access issues.

Here are a few ways members can use to find a new pharmacy to avoid potentially higher out-of-pocket costs. They can:

o Log in to their member account at FloridaBlue.com to check if a pharmacy is in their plan network

o Call the number on the back of their member ID card and select pharmacy

· You can also encourage members to try home delivery with Amazon Pharmacy at

Pharmacy.Amazon.com/MyW. There’s no delivery charge for recurring prescriptions.

Note: Winn-Dixie may display in the visitor and member provider online directory until mid- December even though they are now closed. Members may also want to search for additional pharmacies after January 1, 2024, as new pharmacies may be added.

· If a member does not want to use Walgreens or CVS, they can request that their prescription be transferred to their preferred pharmacy. They should:

o Make sure the preferred pharmacy is in-network before they request a transfer.

o Ask the pharmacist at the preferred pharmacy to call the Walgreens or CVS location that has the member’s prescription so they can process the request. The pharmacy location should be included in the communication the member received from the pharmacy that received their prescription from Winn-Dixie or Harveys. Please note that it may take the pharmacy a few days to process a new prescription.

o Members should have the following information available if they transfer a prescription:

§ Winn-Dixie prescription number

§ Name on the prescription

§ Prescription strength

Once a member has selected a pharmacy, they should let their doctors know of the change