Rapp Thanks Warren Pharmacist for Thoughtful Testimony in House Health Committee Hearing

June 11, 2026

HARRISBURG - Rep. Kathy L. Rapp (R-Warren/Crawford/Forest), Republican chair of the House Health Committee, thanked Warren pharmacist Scott Newton, owner of Gaughn's Drug Store, for his thoughtful testimony at the committee's informational hearing regarding legislation that would move Pennsylvania to a single Pharmacy Benefit Administrator (PBA) model in its medical assistance program.

PBAs are intermediaries between insurance companies, drug manufacturers and pharmacies. They are hired to design prescription drug benefits, negotiate prices and rebates, and process prescription claims.

"Mr. Newton, along with the rest of the testifiers, provided the committee with great insight into the challenges into how Pennsylvania administers its state-funded health care programs," Rapp said. "Independent pharmacies like Gaughn's are struggling to keep their doors open, and too many have closed already. It's clear that this system needs to change."

"Today, independent pharmacies are facing challenges unlike anything I could have imagined
when I entered this profession," Newton said. "The fundamental problem lies in how pharmacies are reimbursed by Pharmacy Benefit Managers, or PBMs.

"Imagine requiring $20 worth of ingredients and $10 in operational costs to make a pizza and then being forced to sell that pizza for $10 or $15. No business can survive indefinitely under that model. Yet that is precisely what pharmacies are required to do every day. In fact, in 2025 we were reimbursed less than the cost of the medication (not including our operating costs) for
approximately 10% of the prescriptions that we dispensed. That is approximately 9,000 prescriptions that we did not recoup our cost of goods."

Newton told committee members he even had to ask his own father-in-law if he would be willing to fill certain prescriptions elsewhere because filling that prescription would become a significant financial loss for Newton's pharmacy due to poor reimbursement levels.

"We can't expect our independent pharmacies, or any small business, to continue keeping their doors open if we're forcing them to operate at a loss," Rapp said. "We will continue working to find a solution that meets the needs of both our Medical Assistance recipients and our independent pharmacies."