Over 1,100 Community Pharmacies Have Closed, Creating Massive Pharmacy Desert Crisis
Led by a coalition of pharmacists, patient advocates, health care providers and community leaders, hundreds of pharmacists and student pharmacists, clad in their white coats on the steps of the Main Capitol Rotunda, today called for the passage of House Bill 2270, bipartisan legislation that would make Pennsylvania a national model for desperately needed pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reforms. PBMs are pocketing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars while underpaying community pharmacies, forcing many to close. Since January 2020, over 1,100 community pharmacies have suffered this fate, creating a massive pharmacy desert that’s engulfed cities, towns and suburbs.
PBMs continue to be the biggest issue for the desert’s growth. While community pharmacies close, The Cigna Group, the parent company of Express Scripts, one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit managers, last month reported total revenues of $274.9 billion for 2025, an 11% increase compared with 2024. Shareholders’ net income for 2025 was $6 billion.
Sponsored by Rep. Rob Matzie (D-Beaver) and Rep. Kate Klunk (R-York), House Bill 2270 would establish a single state PBM, centralizing pharmacy benefit administration and creating a predictable payment standard across the entire Medicaid program. The legislation bans spread pricing (where PBMs charge health plans more than they pay pharmacies, pocketing the difference as profit) and prohibits patients from being steered to PBM-owned pharmacies. A companion bipartisan bill, Senate Bill 1186, was previously introduced by Sens. Lisa Boscola (D-Lehigh) and Judy Ward (R-Blair).
“By implementing a uniform, transparent PBM reimbursement system that increases oversight, reduces administrative burdens and eliminates unfair reimbursement practices, House Bill 2270 can end the pharmacy desert crisis and create a national model that puts people first,” said Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association CEO Victoria Elliott, RPh, MBA, CAE. “The headlines of pharmacy closures keep coming, and that only hurts seniors and low-income families who don’t have the means to travel long distances just to get their life-saving medications. PBMs continue to steer patients to pharmacies they own, undercutting other community pharmacies often preferred by or more convenient for patients. Additional steps need to be taken to ensure pharmacists can keep their doors open to serve patients. If we don’t, the pharmacy desert crisis will only continue to grow. This shouldn’t be happening in 21st century Pennsylvania.”
But it does. Martella’s Pharmacy in Central City, Somerset County, closed on March 28. Months earlier, Express Scripts removed Martella’s from its network coverage for UPMC and Highmark health plans. The (Johnstown) Tribune-Democrat said Martella’s is a critical access point for local prescription services: “We call on Gov. Josh Shapiro and area legislators to work together to find a solution that saves local pharmacies and the prescriptions and health services they offer.”
Though Congress just passed federal PBM reform legislation, it focuses solely on Medicare prescriptions — not Medicaid — meaning it will have no impact on the state’s Medicaid system. In addition, the law does not take effect until 2028 at the earliest, thus offering no help now to end Pennsylvania’s worsening crisis. Questions also have been raised about the need for additional legislation following the passage of Act 77, the Pharmacy Benefit Reform Act, in 2024. However, Act 77 only deals with commercial insurance plans, not Medicaid, and — like the federal legislation — it does not guarantee a consistent, enforced minimum reimbursement rate for pharmacies.
A pharmacy desert includes any area in Pennsylvania where residents no longer have reasonable access to a local pharmacy. According to the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health, deserts exist in urban, suburban and rural areas, and they’re spreading. Over 200 pharmacies operate in areas that will be added to the deserts if they close. An interactive map of Pennsylvania’s growing pharmacy desert crisis can be found here: protectpharmacyaccess.org. The map is searchable by legislative district.
“In the absence of meaningful PBM reforms by our state legislators and the administration, the commonwealth will continue to see pharmacies close and the desert crisis expand,” Elliott said.
# # #
About Pennsylvanians for Protecting Pharmacy Access (PPPA)
PPPA is a coalition of pharmacists, patient advocates, health care providers and community leaders fighting to stop Pennsylvania’s growing pharmacy closure desert crisis, which has surpassed 1,100 since just 2020. Members are calling for the passage of comprehensive pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reforms that would make Pennsylvania a national model for other states. PBMs are pocketing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars while underpaying community pharmacies, forcing many to close. For more information, and an interactive map of Pennsylvania’s growing pharmacy desert crisis, please see: https://www.protectpharmacyaccess.org.
