Bipartisan legislators hail new pharmacy law in Schuylkill County
Lawmakers tout pharmaceutical industry reform to help patients, local pharmacies
Rep. Jessica Benham August 13, 2024 | 3:04 PM
PINE GROVE, Aug. 13 – A bipartisan group of lawmakers held a news conference at Pine Grove Pharmacy today focusing on how state Rep. Jessica Benham’s H.B. 1993 will help protect independent pharmacy owners and reduce the cost of prescription medicine for Pennsylvanians after Gov. Josh Shapiro signed it into law as Act 77 of 2024.
“In many areas of our economy, we have failed to adequately regulate predatory business practices that corporations are using to drive out small businesses and increase the costs of basic necessities like prescription drugs,” said Benham, D-Allegheny.
“The passage of this bill sends a strong signal that, here in Pennsylvania, we’re not going to stand back and let small businesses wither away. With H.B. 1993, lawmakers came together from across the aisle to finally say ‘that’s enough’ to big players in the pharmaceutical industry. I’m eager to continue fighting corporate greed, at pharmacies and beyond, alongside my colleagues.”
Benham said her bill that Shapiro signed into law limits or bans specific PBM practices, including patient steering, retroactive recoupment of money paid by the PBM to the pharmacy and forcing prescriptions to be ordered by mail. It also requires transparency reports on PBMs to be submitted to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department and gives PID more oversight on PBMs.
“The PBMs control the market and tell us what prescriptions we can sell and how much we can make,” said pharmacist Darrin Silbaugh. “And since they’re vertically integrated with our competitors, it means our competition is controlling whether we can survive, and often we cannot. This legislation will provide important oversight and other protections for our pharmacies.”
“This Act is important because it protects independent pharmacies and most importantly it helps the customers, many of them senior citizens, who need access to drugs and services,” said state Rep. Tim Twardzik, R-Schuylkill. “More competitive pricing means seniors can get the medications they need, versus deciding between affording meds or groceries.”
“Coming together for people in our communities is what we as representatives should be doing,” said state Rep. JoAnne Stehr, R-Northumberland/Schuylkill. “Not everyone can or wants to go to a big box pharmacy or forced to order by mail. Our hometown pharmacies provide critically important services.”