Pharmacies feel stiffed on COVID pill payments

Some pharmacies are getting paid as little as $1 to dispense the COVID antiviral pills made by Pfizer and Merck.

Why it matters: Most pharmacies want to offer the drugs, especially the one from Pfizer that drastically cuts the odds of hospitalization and death. But low payments could hurt Americans' ability to access the pills in some areas if pharmacies decide they can't afford to stock them.

How it works: Pharmacies are paid an "ingredient cost" and a "dispensing fee" for drugs.

The ingredient cost covers how much pharmacies have to pay to acquire a drug.

The dispensing fee covers the pharmacist's services, staff, overhead and profit.

Because the federal government paid for the COVID pills, dispensing fees are the only payments pharmacies are getting for these drugs.