State Representative Frank Burns of Cambria County, is escalating the battle against pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) by introducing new legislation to curb their influence. The move follows Burns’ recent meeting with the owners of Martella’s Pharmacy of Johnstown, which remains locked in a high-stakes dispute with PBM giant Express Scripts. Express Scripts drew fire last year after dropping Martella’s from its network, a move that forced local residents to find new providers for their essential medications. In a prepared statement Burns called the PBM’s greedy and said they “won’t be satisfied until they have secured a complete monopoly and driven independent pharmacies out of business”. He further added that “elected officials cannot sit back and allow this to happen”.
Wednesday 18th February 2026
