Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania\u2019s Republican lawmakers are on the verge of deepening the state\u2019s pharmacy access crisis \u2014 and Black and brown communities will pay the highest price.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, three Republican state senators announced intended legislation<\/a> that purports to \u201cprotect\u201d Pennsylvanians\u2019 access to care. While not yet introduced, this proposed legislation would do the opposite, forcing the closure of chain pharmacies that are owned by companies that also own pharmacy benefit managers. <\/p>\n Verbatim, the announcement says<\/a> the bill would, \u201cprohibit PBMs from holding a pharmacy license in Pennsylvania.\u201d If enacted, hundreds of brick-and-mortar and mail-order pharmacies could lose their licenses and be forced to shut down.<\/p>\n Closing pharmacies is not protection. It is a deliberate harm to vulnerable seniors, working families, and the communities that already struggle most to access care. Academic studies<\/a> document that socioeconomic barriers can influence access to pharmacies.<\/p>\n Communities\u00a0of color\u00a0cannot absorb more neglect.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania is already deep in a pharmacy desert crisis. Since 2020, more than 1,100<\/a> independent and chain pharmacies have closed across the commonwealth \u2014 including Rite Aid<\/a>, which filed for bankruptcy and permanently shuttered in 2025. <\/p>\n Residents in predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown, as well as those in rural townships, already face long distances and real hardships just to fill a prescription. <\/p>\n The health stakes are high. Hispanic Pennsylvanians, in particular, experience higher risk factors for chronic disease<\/a>, asthma<\/a>, and multiple cancers<\/a> than white residents. Managing chronic conditions requires consistent, affordable access to medication \u2014 and when that access is severed, patients split pills, skip doses, or abandon prescriptions entirely. <\/p>\n Medication adherence is already lower<\/a> in minority communities. This legislation would make a serious problem catastrophic.<\/p>\n Proponents argue that independent pharmacies can fill the void<\/a>. We\u2019ve seen how that plays out. When Rite Aid collapsed, independent pharmacists reported<\/a> being overwhelmed, creating waitlists and turning away patients on less profitable insurance plans. The chaos that followed will repeat \u2014 and intensify \u2014 if hundreds more pharmacies are shuttered at once.<\/p>\n This legislation also ignores legal reality. Arkansas passed a similar law that was immediately halted in federal court for violating the Commerce Clause<\/a> and interfering with TRICARE, the healthcare program for veterans and military families. Tennessee faced fierce opposition<\/a> from patient advocates and state Medicare officials. <\/p>\n Pennsylvania should avoid repeating these costly mistakes.<\/p>\n