Gov. Pritzker Focuses on Lowering Prescription Drug Costs 

CHICAGO—On the heels of his 2025 State of the State budget address, Governor Pritzker focused on one of his top legislative priorities this year: lowering prescriptions drug costs. After introducing the Prescription Drug Affordability Act (PDAA) in his address, the Governor hosted a roundtable in Springfield with legislators and independent pharmacists to discuss the impact pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have had on their businesses. In Chicago, the Governor visited Chicago Pride Pharmacy to highlight the struggles faced by independent pharmacies and the importance of reform. 

“Predatory pharmacy benefit manager practices hurt small, independent pharmacies that often are the only source of medication for entire communities,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Unfairly high prices put a disproportionate strain on these small business owners and the clients they serve and can cause closures that contribute to medical access deserts—a loss for Illinois communities and business owners that drives up prices for patients.” 

Chicago Pride Pharmacy is classified as a Critical Access Pharmacy that focuses on serving on HIV-positive patient, providing housing and food access support in addition to medication management. In addition to serving the Lombard community, Chicago Pride Pharmacy also supplies medication to a children’s behavioral health facility in Chicago. ​ 

"Independent pharmacies like Chicago Pride Pharmacy are on the front lines of patient care, yet we face constant challenges from PBMs that prioritize profits over people,” said Mehul Khakhkhar, CEO of Upgrade/Chicago Pride Pharmacy. “The Prescription Drug Affordability Act is a crucial step toward leveling the playing field, ensuring fair reimbursement, and protecting access to life-saving medications for our communities. I applaud and appreciate Governor Pritzker’s effort to rein in PBM abuses and stand with all of the lawmakers who are with us in the fight for a more transparent and equitable healthcare system." 

“I saw firsthand how devastating the effects of predatory PBM pricing can be when they led to the closure of three of my independent pharmacies,” said Michelle Dyer, an independent pharmacist whose story was featured by the Governor in his State of the State address. “In Macoupin County, small pharmacies like mine are instrumental to ensuring people receive quality medical care, and that was threatened. We need PBM reform to keep prescription drugs affordable and ensure small businesses aren’t choked out by PBM’s” 

PBMs are middlemen who negotiate between insurance companies and pharmacies to set prices. Many large PBMs are owned by pharmacies themselves, resulting in vertical integration that leads to lower prices for these large chains and higher prices for independent pharmacies like Chicago Pride Pharmacy. Through a predatory practice known as “spread pricing,” PBMs manipulate costs by charging a consumer’s health insurance plan substantially more for a drug than the amount it pays to a pharmacy for the same drug and then pocketing the difference. 

The legislation championed by the Governor would limit spread pricing, ban PBMs from steering consumers to pharmacies in which they have a financial interest, and limit arbitrary classification of certain medications as “specialty drugs.” The legislation also protects Illinois consumers access and small businesses by codifying current eligibility for enhanced rates for Medicaid-eligible critical access pharmacies, ensuring those pharmacies can cover their own costs in exchange for services they provide to the community. ​ The legislation would also modify the classification of a Critical Access Pharmacy to include 33 additional pharmacies in rural and otherwise underserved areas, allowing those businesses access to additional state rebates to support covering their costs. ​ 

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