Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield drops Big Y pharmacy coverage in Connecticut

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has dropped coverage at Big Y pharmacies in Connecticut.

And now a family in Marlborough says they’re traveling out of town to pick up prescriptions instead of using the only pharmacy in their community.

Robin Greenwald was upset when she received a letter from Anthem.

“This is something that's never happened before,” Greenwald said.

In the letter she shared with us, it says that as of January 1, the Big Y Pharmacy in Marlborough would no longer be part of the plan’s network for the family.

“It's kind of frustrating. And it's not that easy to move prescriptions from one pharmacy to the next,” Anna Greenwald, of Marlborough, said.

In a statement, Anthem says Big Y is no longer in their network in Connecticut.

“We regularly evaluate our pharmacy networks with the goal of maintaining affordable access to care for employers, plans, and members, while ensuring members have convenient access to high-quality pharmacies,” the statement read.

The Greenwalds pointed out the Big Y is the only pharmacy in their town and in the letter they received, Anthem added in part:

“You still have plenty of choices available. For your convenience, the list on the right will help you find pharmacies that are in your plan’s network and close to where you live.”

Several pharmacies are listed in East Hampton.

One is a Walgreens that is now closed and a sign suggests people go to its location in Portland.

But even the pharmacies that remain in East Hampton are still several miles away from Marlborough.

“It's about 20 minutes out of the way, you know, there and back. So first world problems. But when we've got a dependable pharmacy right here that's given us good service, we want to continue to use them,” Robin Greenwald said.

We’ve also reached out to Big Y for comment but have not yet heard back.