The owner of Towne Drugs pharmacy in Aspinwall will travel to Washington, D.C., next week to attend the State of the Union address as a guest of Congressman Chris Deluzio, using the national stage to push for changes to pharmacy benefit managers.
Jon Akanowicz, a pharmacist at Towne Drugs Pharmacy, said it is “a true honor” to attend the address. Between filling prescriptions at his independent pharmacy, Akanowicz has been speaking out against pharmacy benefit managers, commonly known as PBMs.
PBMs act as intermediaries between insurers, drug manufacturers and pharmacies, negotiating drug prices and determining reimbursement rates. Major PBMs include CVS Caremark, OptumRx and Express Scripts…