HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) \u2014 In 2018, pharmacist Charlotte Moss took the plunge and opened a pharmacy in her Columbia County community.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really had a need,\u201d Moss said. \u201cSo I went through the hoops and opened a pharmacy there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Close<\/a><\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Watch for us in your inbox.<\/p>\n Subscribe Now<\/p>\n Filling prescriptions was easy. Filling the store\u2019s coffers, not so much.<\/p>\n \u201cIt costs more money to run the pharmacy than what we were receiving back in reimbursements,\u201d Moss said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Greg Lopes, who represents PBMs through the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, said the pharmacists spread \u201cthe wrong message.\u201d He insists PBMs battle big pharma to keep drug prices low. He also said pharmacies are fairly reimbursed, and PBMs unfairly blamed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is time to move on from blaming PBMs for high drug costs,\u201d he said. \u201cThat 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.\u201d<\/p>\n