Independent pharmacists such as Robert Maher feel trapped, state lawmakers learned Thursday.
A pharmacist knows the people in the community well, from grandparents to parents to kids, Maher said.
They also know the pharmacy in today’s prescription payment system can’t take care of those people without going out of business.
“It’s sad when you see people you know, and you can’t even fill those prescriptions,” Maher said. He has served for years in leadership roles at Klingensmith’s Drug Stores, an independent pharmacy chain with locations in Leechburg and elsewhere in Western Pennsylvania.
Maher and more than a dozen other pharmacists explained their plight to state Rep. Jessica Benham, D-Pittsburgh; Eric Nelson, R-Hempfield, and Valerie Gaydos, R-Allepo, at a roundtable discussion Thursday at Westmoreland County Community College. It was one of a series of public input sessions held across the state in the past year.
Hundreds of pharmacists are facing a conundrum as they struggle with what they say is the unequal relationship between pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers — third-party intermediaries between drug manufacturers, pharmacies and insurance providers.
