PA-Based Rite Aid Prepares For Bankruptcy: Reports

PHILADELPHIA — Amid looming opioid lawsuits and a $3.3 billion debt load, reports say Philadelphia-based Rite Aid is preparing to file for bankruptcy.

The pharmacy chain is planning to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to address more than 1,000 state and federal lawsuits it faces for allegedly contributing to the opioid epidemic, according to the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.

Rite Aid reported a net loss of $307 million in the first quarter of 2023, compared to last year’s first quarter net loss of $110.2 million.

The pharmaceutical retailer has 464 stores in Pennsylvania. Rite Aid has not publicly addressed the bankruptcy filing reports, and sources with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg the company is still finalizing its plans.

The filing is expected to include the closure of more than 400 of its more than 2,200 stores, Yahoo Finance reported.

The company has also not filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice with the state, which is required in the case of a mass closure and/or mass layoff, as of Sept. 13.

Patch has reached out to the company for any impending closures in the state.

The Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit against Rite Aid in May, claiming that the company violated the Controlled Substances Act by repeatedly filling prescriptions “with obvious red flags” and intentionally deleting notes about suspicious prescribers.

Rite Aid has more than 2,200 pharmacies in 17 states.