HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — In 2018, pharmacist Charlotte Moss took the plunge and opened a pharmacy in her Columbia County community.

“It really had a need,” Moss said. “So I went through the hoops and opened a pharmacy there.”

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Filling prescriptions was easy. Filling the store’s coffers, not so much.

“It costs more money to run the pharmacy than what we were receiving back in reimbursements,” Moss said.

She closed up shop. Many customers tell her they now get their meds online, and the rest take a road trip to the nearest pharmacy, 18 miles away. The community, like many in Pennsylvania, became a pharmacy desert.

Moss joined the Pennsylvania Pharmacist Association and hundreds in white coats to rally at the Pennsylvania State Capitol, waving red flags about pharmacy benefit managers, middlemen who they said negotiate drug prices, lowball reimbursements to pharmacists, while boosting their own profits. She said PBMs squeezed her out.

Greg Lopes, who represents PBMs through the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, said the pharmacists spread “the wrong message.” He insists PBMs battle big pharma to keep drug prices low. He also said pharmacies are fairly reimbursed, and PBMs unfairly blamed.

“It is time to move on from blaming PBMs for high drug costs,” he said. “That day is over, and we hope that policymakers start taking a look at the root cause of high drug prices, which is the drug manufacturer itself.”

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But bipartisan bills would have the state select one PBM for taxpayer-funded Medicare patients. Rep. Rob Matzie (D-Beaver) said Ohio did it and unlocked $700 million more for pharmacists.

“It’s very simpleL one administrator. Period,” Matzie said. “No more patchwork networks, more consistency, more transparency and most importantly, protecting patient access and lowering costs.”

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