Allegany County legislators on May 28 asked county administration and the county attorney to draft a resolution supporting state legislation they said aims to shore up rural pharmacies.

The request came during the Committee of the Whole meeting when members raised concerns that “for small independent pharmacies the reimbursement rates provided by insurers do not cover the wholesale cost of the prescription drugs that are being purchased by the pharmacies,” a comment recorded during the discussion.

The nut graf: Legislators said the bills — cited in meeting materials as Assembly bill 5882 and Senate bill 5939 — address practices by pharmacy benefit managers that they and local pharmacists contend make it hard for small, independent rural pharmacies to operate. Supporters said local pharmacies provide delivery and other services relied on by seniors and residents with limited transportation.

Committee members described firsthand concerns from local business owners. Jan (county legislator) said she received a call from Casey Klingensmith and relayed concerns from local owners including Alfred Pharmacy’s owner, Tony Graziano; Jan said the legislation “could, really close our local pharmacies because they won't get the same reimbursement as these big, whatever they're called.”

Carole (county legislator) described pharmacy benefit managers as “the middlemen between the drug manufacturers and producers and then the pharmacies themselves,” saying the managers “actually set the prices for how much the pharmaceuticals and the drugs will cost us” and that local pharmacies often “are losing out on the money because the rates are so high.”

Legislators said the county has materials from the National Association of Counties (NACo) policy platform and earlier correspondence summarizing the bills. The committee chair asked whether the board wanted staff to prepare a draft resolution; members signaled support by show of hands. The chair later confirmed the direction to “direct administration the county attorney to draft resolutions in support of these state bills,” and members agreed to review and vote on the draft at a later meeting.

Discussion vs. decision: The meeting did not include a formal roll-call vote on a final resolution. The action taken was a directive to staff to prepare draft resolutions for the board’s later consideration.

Context and local impacts cited in the meeting: committee members said rural pharmacies provide home delivery and serve seniors and residents without reliable transportation; one member said delivery and personal service “are definitely just drastically needed in our rural environment.” The transcript shows legislators acknowledged they had not all fully read the bills and that they would rely on staff and arriving association representatives to clarify details.

Ending: County officials will produce draft language for a supporting resolution and circulate it to legislators; the board will consider the draft and may vote on a final resolution at a subsequent meeting.