HARRISBURG — As pharmacy closures have continued across the state, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has questioned how the Shapiro administration is following through on the promises of a 2024 law meant to support these stores.

They’ve also questioned the state’s oversight of corporate middlemen, known as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), who manage drug plans for employers and insurance companies. Critics say they harm patients by driving up drug costs and community pharmacies by offering insufficient reimbursements.

State Sen. Lindsey Williams (D., Allegheny) — one of six lawmakers who signed a July letter raising concerns about the enforcement of the bipartisan and much-touted law known as Act 77 — told Spotlight PA she wants pharmacists to feel that PBMs truly are being held accountable.

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About 1,100 licensed Pennsylvania pharmacies went out of business from early 2020 to early November of this year, according to Department of State records. While some new ones opened, the data showed a net loss of hundreds of pharmacies.

About 500 of those closures appear to have been Rite Aid stores. That company had its own set of financial problems, but Spotlight PA reported in July that its collapse highlighted bigger problems facing the industry. State data shows hundreds of the closures occurred after Act 77 became law. Many were Rite Aid locations, although the list also includes other big chain stores and smaller operations.