Last month, pharmacists from across Pennsylvania traveled to Harrisburg with an urgent message: our pharmacies are closing at an alarming rate, eliminating one of the few places where residents can walk in and receive unscheduled, face-to-face guidance from trusted medical professionals. These closures are being driven in large part by middlemen in the pharmaceutical supply chain known as Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs).

Pharmacists told us they are routinely reimbursed below the cost of acquiring medications—sometimes just $1 to fill a prescription that costs them more than ten times that amount. Many said they are losing money every time they fill a script. Since January 2024, at least 500 pharmacies have shut their doors across the Commonwealth.

Last year, the General Assembly passed the Pharmacy Benefit Reform Act (Act 77 of 2024) in a major bipartisan achievement, which increased oversight and transparency. Unfortunately, today our pharmacies are still closing and pharmacists across the state are asking us to act again.

As chairs of the Pharmacy Caucus, we intend to jointly introduce legislation to establish a single Pharmacy Benefit Administrator (PBA) model for Pennsylvania’s state-funded health care programs. Under this system, the Department of Human Services would competitively contract one PBM to administer all prescription drug benefit programs—eliminating the patchwork of PBMs and providing fair and transparent reimbursement to cover pharmacies’ costs to protect patient access.

This approach has precedent: Ohio adopted this model in 2019, and in just two years, it saved the state $333 million in administrative costs and allowed $700 million in dispensing fees to go directly to pharmacies. A 2025 report found that Ohio’s Medicaid program is now the most stable and reliable payer for its pharmacists. Kentucky followed suit, saving $283 million in the first year. Virginia, Minnesota and Nevada Legislatures passed similar legislation just this year.

Our independent pharmacies are more than businesses—they are front-line health care providers & members of the communities they serve. Without action, we will lose them. Please join us in co-sponsoring this legislation to strengthen pharmacy access, rein in middlemen, and protect patient care across Pennsylvania.