Editor’s Note: The following is a speech Matt Hendrix shared at a press conference on Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM) reform at the Mississippi State Capitol on Feb. 27.

I’m Matt Hendrix and I’m a pharmacist with Helping Hand Family Pharmacy in Vicksburg. I wanted to briefly talk to you about the detrimental impact that Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM) have had on pharmacies in Mississippi, and by extension our patients and customers.

PBM abuses of independent pharmacies are well documented, so I won’t go into detail here. What I do want to cover is how communities are affected when pharmacies close. According to the Mississippi Board of Pharmacy there have been an average of 20 pharmacies per year close in Mississippi over the last 4 years. That’s 80 less pharmacies in the state to serve our patients and communities. Many of these pharmacies were in rural areas. The pharmacies in these areas often served the poorest of our citizens. Can you imagine the pharmacies in Fayette, Port Gibson, Rolling Fork, Marks, or Durant closing? Some of these patients would have over an hour round trip drive just to have a simple antibiotic filled for their sick child. This is called a pharmacy desert, and they already exist right here in Mississippi. It’s a reality that Mississippi citizens shouldn’t have to face in 2025 just so some lawmakers can appease the out of state interests of PBM’s.

Vicksburg, where I am from, has always had a strong tradition of locally owned, independent drug stores, but those days are numbered. When Helping Hand Pharmacy first opened, there were 9 independent pharmacies in Vicksburg, now there are 2. Most recently Peoples Drug Store was forced to close. Peoples had been in business for over 100 years. This is a pharmacy that survived the Great Depression and a World War, but they couldn’t survive the PBM’s. Peoples drug store serviced a predominantly poorer part of Vicksburg and offered same-day delivery to their customers, many of whom couldn’t drive. Do you think CVS is going to bring these same customers their flu medication the day their doctor calls it in for them?

The pharmacists that own and work at independent pharmacies are the people that sponsor your kids baseball teams. These are the people that you can call to open up for you on holidays when your child broke their arm and needs their pain medicine filled. These are the people that meet the hospice nurse after hours to fill the medicine to comfort your loved one in their final moments. I know my customers by name and greet them as they come in the door. I can guarantee you that these same customers would be nothing more than a prescription number at whatever pharmacy their PBM tried to steer them to.

We urge our legislators to champion legislation like Senate Bill 2677, the pharmacy benefit prompt pay act, to protect the patients that we serve. Please help us stand up to these powerful special interest groups. Be as courageous as our neighbors in Arkansas, Louisiana, and other states that have passed legislation to limit PBM’s abusive practices. Together we can ensure that all Mississippians have access to fair, affordable, and reliable healthcare.”