Eric Pusey has been known to leave his pharmacy in Olyphant to administer a vaccine to a customer or deliver important medication to their home.
The owner of Better Health Pharmacy provides advice and support, as well as prescriptions, to his customers daily. But the middlemen who manage prescription drug benefits for health insurers, large employers and government programs make his job more difficult. Reimbursements to pharmacies for drugs dispensed to patients often don’t cover costs, he said.
Pusey hopes for legislation that demands transparency and accountability from pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan visited the pharmacy Tuesday to assure Pusey and other pharmacists that he hears them and is working toward a solution.
U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan (left) and Eric Pusey, owner of local pharmacy Better Health, Olyphant, address issues regarding reform to the Pharmacy Benefit Manager industry on on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (GERI GIBBONS/STAFF PHOTO)
U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan tours the Better Health Pharmacy, Olyphant, on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (GERI GIBBONS/STAFF PHOTO)
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U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan (left) and Eric Pusey, owner of local pharmacy Better Health, Olyphant, address issues regarding reform to the Pharmacy Benefit Manager industry on on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (GERI GIBBONS/STAFF PHOTO)
Bresnahan, a Republican who represents the 8th Congressional District, said that because of reimbursement rates, independent pharmacies often lose money on prescriptions they fill, such as GLP-1 medications. The rates are set below the wholesale acquisition cost for pharmacies to buy the drug.
Pharmacists committed to providing medication to their customers will fill prescriptions at a loss, Pusey said. The financial strain takes a toll on individual pharmacies and on the industry as a whole, he said.
In Pennsylvania, over 600 pharmacies have closed their doors this year, including about 60 in our region.
In February, President Donald Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, limiting the business practices of pharmacy benefit managers across Medicare, Medicaid and commercial group health plans.
The legislation provides increased transparency as well as some protections for pharmacies.
“The abuses of the dominant PBM middlemen are widely recognized, and this landmark federal action reflects the broad, bipartisan commitment to confront and remedy them,” Steven C. Anderson, president and CEO of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, said after the legislation passed.
Bresnahan currently co-sponsors legislation to provide protections for pharmacies and their customers, he said.
‘A tough spot’
Chuck Obeid of Sheehans Pharmacy in Plains Twp. said pharmacies are in a tough spot when it comes to reimbursement.
With over 30 employees who depend on the business for their livelihood, finances are important when it comes to sustainability and customer service, he said.
Obeid was grateful for the opportunity to gather with other pharmacy owners to discuss the issue and for Bresnahan’s understanding and support.
Pusey looked back to December 2024, when Bresnahan visited the pharmacy about a month before he took office. Bresnahan left with a stack of information.
“Three or four months later, he came back and he knew what was going on with PBMs,” Pusey said. “He found that it’s such a challenge for pharmacies across the United States and in our district.”
Pusey hopes federal legislators on both sides of the aisle will come to understand that regulation of PBMs will stabilize the industry and ultimately benefit patients.