UPGRADES PROPOSED AROUND SHAPIRO’S PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL LIFE. THE CAPITOL ROTUNDA IN HARRISBURG TODAY COVERED IN WHITE COATS AS PHARMACISTS AND FROM ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH, RALLIED AROUND ONE ISSUE POTENTIAL PHARMACY DESERTS, WHERE PEOPLE ARE FURTHER AWAY FROM PLACES TO GET THEIR MEDICATION. ABOUT 300 PHARMACISTS, BOTH PROFESSIONALS AND STUDENTS, CALLED FOR THE PASSAGE OF A NEW HOUSE BILL THAT WOULD REGULATE PHARMACY BENEFITS MANAGERS, KNOWN AS PBMS. THEY’RE BASICALLY THE MIDDLEMEN IN THE PHARMACY SUPPLY CHAIN. THE PHARMACISTS CLAIM. THE GREED OF PBMS IS THE REASON FOR THE CLOSURE OF HUNDREDS OF PHARMACIES OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS. IN PENNSYLVANIA, WE CURRENTLY HAVE A NETWORK SYSTEM OF PBMS, PATCHWORK SYSTEM OF BASICALLY PRIVATE PBMS THAT ARE CONTRACTED WITH THE STATE. WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO IS GET THAT TO A SINGLE PBM, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW, THE MONEY THAT IS BEING WASTED IN THE SYSTEM, AS FAR AS WE KNOW, ARE IN THE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TH
Pharmacists rally in Harrisburg to address “pharmacy deserts”
Updated: 5:28 PM EDT Apr 14, 2026
Pharmacists from across Pennsylvania gathered at the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg to raise awareness about “pharmacy deserts,” areas where people face limited access to medication due to pharmacy closures. Hundreds support new House billAbout 300 pharmacists, including professionals and students, rallied in support of a new House bill that would regulate pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, which act as intermediaries in the pharmacy supply chain. Pharmacists blame PBMs for closuresThe pharmacists claimed that PBMs are responsible for the closure of hundreds of pharmacies in recent years due to greed. Call for a single PBM system”In Pennsylvania, we currently have a network system of PBMs, a patchwork system, of basically private PBMs that are contracted with the state. What we would like to do is get that to a single PBM. Because right now, the money that is being wasted in the system, as far as we know, is in the hundreds of millions of dollars,” Pennsylvania Pharmacy Association President Darryle Tillman said. The group gathered as part of a coalition called Pennsylvanians for Pharmacy Access.
Pharmacists from across Pennsylvania gathered at the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg to raise awareness about “pharmacy deserts,” areas where people face limited access to medication due to pharmacy closures.
Hundreds support new House bill
About 300 pharmacists, including professionals and students, rallied in support of a new House bill that would regulate pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, which act as intermediaries in the pharmacy supply chain.
Pharmacists blame PBMs for closures
The pharmacists claimed that PBMs are responsible for the closure of hundreds of pharmacies in recent years due to greed.
Call for a single PBM system
“In Pennsylvania, we currently have a network system of PBMs, a patchwork system, of basically private PBMs that are contracted with the state. What we would like to do is get that to a single PBM. Because right now, the money that is being wasted in the system, as far as we know, is in the hundreds of millions of dollars,” Pennsylvania Pharmacy Association President Darryle Tillman said.
The group gathered as part of a coalition called Pennsylvanians for Pharmacy Access.