In a devastating one-two punch to Oregon’s pharmacies and the patients who rely on them, state lawmakers failed to pass any version of House Bill 3212 to reform abusive PBM contracting practices and also failed to extend the CAT tax exemption for critical access pharmacies during the 2025 Legislative Session. The result is a deepening pharmacy access crisis that will force pharmacies to drastically cut services just to survive, and for many, even that will not be enough to keep their doors open.
Over the past year, nearly 1,300 Oregonians contacted their elected officials, urging them to protect pharmacy access by advancing HB 3212. The bipartisan bill, developed through a nearly yearlong stakeholder process, would have tackled anti-competitive PBM business practices that are forcing pharmacies to operate at a loss and close at alarming rates. Since 2008, more than 200 pharmacies have closed across Oregon making the state the worst in the nation for pharmacy access. Despite broad public and legislative support for HB 3212, PBMs and their insurance partners succeeded once again in convincing Democratic leadership to prioritize corporate profits over community care.
At the same time, lawmakers allowed a key tax exemption to expire, re-imposing Oregon’s Commercial Activity Tax (CAT) on pharmacy gross sales, even though pharmacies already pay this tax through inflated wholesale costs. Unlike most businesses, pharmacies cannot set their own prices and are contractually barred from passing on additional costs to patients. This double taxation leaves pharmacies squeezed on both ends, exacerbating financial strain and making survival impossible for many, particularly in rural communities where pharmacies are already hanging by a thread. Predatory PBM practices coupled with double taxation under the CAT, are pushing pharmacies past the breaking point.
“While some legislators, like those that represent the communities we serve, had our backs, Democratic leadership and too many members of their supermajorities in both chambers turned a blind eye and deaf ear to the desperate state of pharmacies and the impassioned pleas of their constituents,” said Ann Murray, owner of Murray Drugs in Eastern Oregon. “Pharmacies will be forever grateful for the outpouring of support from the community we saw during the legislative session and we will need that support going forward as we continue to fight for basic fairness and the bare necessities that can keep pharmacies open and ensure that patients can have access to pharmacy care in their communities.”
“The legislature made a choice not to act on critical pharmacy matters this session and, in doing so, made a choice to accelerate pharmacy closures and exacerbate Oregon’s pharmacy crisis,” said Brian Mayo, executive director of OSPA. “Lawmakers talk a big game about improving health access and equity, but when it comes time to choose between patients and powerful corporate lobbies, they repeatedly choose the latter. The result is higher costs, fewer pharmacy choices, and longer delays for patients across the state.”
Despite the legislature’s failure to act, pharmacy advocates vow to continue the fight, for fairness, for financial viability, and for the communities that depend on local pharmacy care.
