{"id":242813,"date":"2026-07-14T03:32:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T03:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/242813\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T03:32:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T03:32:13","slug":"encouraging-milestone-pa-budget-language-could-restore-martellas-pbm-network-access","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/242813\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Encouraging milestone:’ Pa budget language could restore Martella’s PBM network access"},"content":{"rendered":"

CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa (WJAC) \u2014 Legislators say that language in Pennsylvania\u2019s now passed budget<\/a> will benefit a local pharmacy in their over yearlong battle with pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts.<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been roughly one year since Express Scripts terminated Martella\u2019s<\/a> from its contract and new language in this year\u2019s budget could reportedly help get the pharmacy back into the network, benefitting hundreds of patients in the area.<\/p>\n

While representatives from Martella\u2019s say this is a step forward in their battle, they note that there is still a lot of work to be done to return to Express Scripts\u2019 network.<\/p>\n

Legislators explained that language was inserted into the fiscal code in this year\u2019s budget that will provide Martella\u2019s Pharmacy with a pathway to become re-instated by the PBM.<\/p>\n

Both local lawmakers and representatives from Martella\u2019s say this new language is a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were able to get this language in the budget that basically says that if you’ve sat out a year, you’re able to reapply within 12 months of being terminated, so Martella\u2019s will now be able to apply again to be reinstated,\u201d explained Rep. Frank Burns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is assuming that they are in good standing, then the PBM Express Scripts cannot deny that. This is forceful language which makes it very clear that if you have a provider such as Martella\u2019s, then they need to be afforded that opportunity to provide for those individuals,\u201d added Senator Wayne Langerholc.<\/p>\n

That network termination has impacted hundreds of patients across Cambria and Somerset counties, many who have said that they need the services that Martella\u2019s provides. Legislators say they have also heard that call for help.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is something that we have been working on for some time. We’ve heard a lot of outreach from a wide range of people on this issue for over a year now, well over a year, and we’ve been dealing with this and have been working with stakeholders that have been involved and have been working to craft legislation, as well as talk to stakeholders as well as talk to these PBMs; it’s been a very long process,\u201d said Sen. Langerholc.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe real effort comes from the people of the community, the patients of Martella\u2019s and the people that were concerned about losing a business that has been there for 60 years; those are the people that actually made this happen because they’re the ones that got the attention of the folks in Harrisburg,\u201d said Rep. Burns.<\/p>\n

While those legislators say this is now law and the pharmacy can be reinstated with Express Scripts, representatives from Martella\u2019s say that the work is not done yet.<\/p>\n

In a statement issued Sunday, Martella\u2019s said in part, \u201cwhile today’s news is an important and encouraging milestone, our work is not yet complete. We are carefully reviewing the final legislation to better understand the next steps and what it means for our patients and our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martella\u2019s says “their focus remains on restoring access for the thousands of Medicaid patients who have been impacted and ensuring that the intent of this legislation becomes a reality.”<\/p>\n

The pharmacy also thanked patients, employees, elected officials and those who have stood by them through this time, and they encourage the community to continue sharing their stories while they continue to work towards re-instatement with the PBM.<\/p>\n

6 News reached out to Express Scripts for comment but have not heard back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa (WJAC) \u2014 Legislators say that language in Pennsylvania\u2019s now passed budget will benefit a local…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":242814,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-242813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}