Pharmacy deserts

Pennsylvania Auditor General Timothy L. DeFoor announced the findings of a performance audit of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services' oversight of the Medicaid program and their monitoring of pharmacy benefit managers, also known as PBMs.

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PBMs in focus as Auditor General slams Pa. Human Services over Medicaid drug program costs

DeFoor says lack of oversight by DHS, spread pricing by PBMs cost Pennsylvania taxpayers $7 Million in 2022; critics say his report is flawed and misinterprets process.

DePietro's Pharmacy owner Tom DePietro talks how his Dunmore business packages medication for customers in pouches designed to help them keep their prescriptions organized. DePietro has raised frequent concerns about how pharmacy benefit managers' business practices make it difficult for independent pharmacies, such as his, to remain profitable. DePietro is glad Pennsylvania recently signed PBM reform legislation, but said the federal government also has a responsibility to take action.

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Pennsylvania pharmacy bill: One fight won, 'many fights to come'

Roger DuPuis | WVIA News

Act 77 is designed to increase transparency and accountability of pharmacy benefit managers. Advocates say more needs to be done, seek federal action.

Dushore Pharmacy owner Melissa Keller reaches for a medication bottle from the shelves at the drugstore in Dushore, Sullivan County. The business, which Keller took over last year, is the rural county's only pharmacy, with the nearest competitors nearly 20 miles away. While Dushore Pharmacy has a loyal customer base, Keller acknowledges that her business faces many of the same challenges as other independent drugstores in Pennsylvania, notably from pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. 'Sometimes we'll lose $50 to $100 on a prescription,' she said.

Local

Script for disaster: PBM practices widely blamed as Pennsylvania 'pharmacy deserts' grow

Roger DuPuis | WVIA News

'Pharmacy deserts' affect hundreds of thousands in Pennsylvania as independent drugstores struggle amid rising costs, low reimbursements from pharmacy benefit managers