Madison, Wis. – As national leaders call for action to lower prescription drug costs, nearly 500 pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy students filled the Wisconsin State Capitol on Wednesday, February 11, warning that delays in Madison are costing communities their
pharmacies and patients their access to care.
Advocates from across the state gathered for the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin (PSW) Legislative Day as Assembly lawmakers considered Assembly Bill 173 in the Committee on Health, Aging, and Long-Term Care today. Pharmacy professionals shared firsthand accounts of delayed care,
unaffordable medications, and community pharmacies struggling to survive under opaque, unfair Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) practices.
“The need for PBM reform is not theoretical for Wisconsin pharmacists and their patients; it is urgent and personal,” said Nicole Schreiner, President of the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin. “While this bill has been sitting in the legislative process, my own community pharmacy, Streu’s Pharmacy in Green Bay, was forced to close. That is the reality playing out in towns and neighborhoods across our state.”
AB 173 would bring long-needed accountability and transparency to PBM practices that drive up costs for patients and their employers and limit access to medications.
When a legislator loses a pharmacy in their district, their constituents suffer immediate consequences: longer travel distances to obtain medications, fewer trusted healthcare relationships, and higher out-of-pocket costs. For employers and taxpayers, unchecked PBM
practices contribute to rising healthcare spending with little insight into where dollars are going or whether savings ever reach consumers.
“Wisconsin legislative leadership has an opportunity to align with national attention on lowering drug costs and taking out the waste. Wisconsin can’t wait on the sidelines,” said Sarah Sorum,
Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin CEO. “Every week this bill waits, another community risks losing its pharmacy. Moving AB 173, and its Senate companion bill SB 203, forward is a tangible way for
legislators to show constituents they are serious about affordability, access, and keeping care close to home.”
PSW and its members strongly support AB 173 and SB 203 and urge swift legislative action to ensure Wisconsin patients are not left behind as other states move forward.
