A bipartisan bill has been introduced in the state Senate to protect local pharmacies like Gaughn’s Drug Store in Warren County.

Sen. Judy Ward, R-Lewistown, and Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Bethlehem, this week introduced Senate Bill 1186, legislation that seeks to protect patient access to pharmacies by establishing a single pharmacy benefit administrator (PBA) model for Pennsylvania’s state-funded health care programs.

Under this system, the state Department of Human Services would competitively contract with one pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) to administer all prescription drug benefit programs, which would eliminate the patchwork of pharmacy benefit managers. The senators said doing so will provide fair and transparent reimbursement to cover pharmacies’ costs and protect patient access to health care. The legislation would also prohibit the state-chosen single PBA from engaging in predatory practices such as patient steering, spread pricing and specialty drug designation manipulation.

“Pharmacies continue to close at an alarming rate, leaving countless Pennsylvanians without access to necessary medication and services,” said Ward. “The single PBA model has shown promise in other states, and it will create a new environment where pharmacies can continue to provide the lifesaving health care so many of our constituents depend on.”

The Senate Community Pharmacy Caucus held a recent hearing to highlight the problems facing pharmacies and the need for reforms, including the benefits seen in other states when adopting a single PBA model. Ohio adopted a similar model in 2019, and Boscola and Ward said in two years it saved the state $333 million in administrative costs and allowed $700 million in dispensing fees to go directly to pharmacies. A 2025 report found that Ohio’s Medicaid program is now the most stable and reliable payer for its pharmacists. Kentucky followed suit, saving $283 million in the first year. The Virginia, Minnesota and Nevada legislatures have passed similar legislation.

In 2024, the state General Assembly passed Act 77, a Pharmacy Benefits Manager (PBM) that banned practices such as patient steering and claw backs, strengthened network adequacy requirements, increased PBM transparency and accountability and gave the Shapiro administration additional oversight. That bill (SB 1000) was similarly co-sponsored by Ward and Boscola.

“Community pharmacies are the front door to our health care system, and too many of them are hanging on by a thread,” said Boscola. “This legislation gives us a transparent, accountable model that ensures pharmacies are paid fairly, patients can get their medications close to home, and taxpayers actually see savings instead of waste.”

The federal government is also making changes to the rules governing PBMs. The 2026 Consolidated Appropriations Act that was signed by President Donald Trump on Feb. 3 introduced bipartisan PBM reforms that seek to lower drug prices by increasing transparency, banning spread pricing in Medicaid and mandating 100% rebate pass-throughs to employers. The law, effective in 2028, shifts PBM compensation from a percentage of drug prices to flat fees. PBMs are also prohibited from linking compensation to drug sticker prices in Medicare, and must pass 100% of manufacturer rebates to employer-sponsored plans. The legislation requires detailed, semi-annual reporting on drug spending, rebates and fees to employer plans, and PBMs must provide reasonable contract terms to pharmacies, aiming to stabilize independent and rural pharmacies.