HARRISBURG, PA — A deepening wave of pharmacy closures has left large swaths of Pennsylvania without reliable access to prescription drugs, prompting a coalition of pharmacists and patient advocates to press lawmakers for sweeping reforms in 2026.
Pennsylvanians for Protecting Pharmacy Access said more than 1,000 pharmacies have closed statewide since 2020, accelerating the growth of so-called pharmacy deserts — areas where residents no longer have reasonable access to a local pharmacy. The group warns the crisis is worsening, with another 213 pharmacies operating in locations that would become deserts if those stores shut their doors.
To illustrate the scope of the problem, the coalition on Tuesday launched an interactive mapping tool showing where pharmacies have closed and where access is most at risk. The maps, available at https://protectpharmacyaccess.org, allow users to search by address, county, or legislative district, and highlight deserts in urban, suburban, and rural communities.
Data cited by the coalition from the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health show the loss of pharmacy access is no longer isolated to remote areas, but increasingly affects densely populated regions as well.
“Community pharmacies are often the only health care provider for patients in their area, but the actions of PBMs are expanding this crisis with more pharmacy closures and the growth of deserts they create,” said Victoria Elliott, chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association. She said the closures force patients to travel farther for basic care, disproportionately affecting seniors, low-income families, and residents without reliable transportation.
At the center of the dispute are Pharmacy Benefit Managers, or PBMs, the companies that negotiate drug prices and reimbursement rates on behalf of insurers. The coalition argues that current PBM practices are driving independent and community pharmacies out of business.
The group is urging lawmakers to pass a package of reforms aimed at stabilizing the pharmacy network. Among the proposals are raising the Medicaid managed care dispensing fee to match the state’s fee-for-service rate, requiring PBMs to reimburse all pharmacies for the full cost of medications, and guaranteeing payment for pharmacist-provided clinical services such as immunizations, medication management, and point-of-care testing.
The coalition is also calling for Pennsylvania to move to a single PBM model for Medicaid managed care, arguing that a uniform system would increase transparency, reduce administrative burdens, and prevent conflicting reimbursement rules that squeeze providers.
“These common-sense reforms will ensure every Pennsylvanian gets the care they need close to home,” Elliott said. “We must end the pharmacy closure crisis and stabilize patient access to health care, in all communities.”
With lawmakers set to return in 2026, advocates say the expanding deserts shown on the new map are intended as both a warning and a call to action — illustrating what could be lost if the state fails to intervene.
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