Arkansas bans pharmacy benefit managers from owning pharmacies in state

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed authorities Wednesday prohibiting pharmacy payment managers from owning oregon operating pharmacies, becoming the archetypal authorities to enact specified a restriction.

The measurement comes arsenic different states are considering restrictions connected pharmacy payment managers, which tally medicine cause sum for large clients that see wellness insurers and employers that supply coverage.

Supporters of the restrictions person said pharmacy payment managers are forcing autarkic pharmacies, particularly successful agrarian areas, retired of business.

“For acold excessively long, cause middlemen called PBMs person taken vantage of lax regulations to maltreatment customers, inflate cause prices, and chopped disconnected entree to captious medications. Not anymore,” Sanders said successful a connection released by her office.

CVS Health has been moving TV ads successful the authorities opposing the measure and urging Sanders to veto it. CVS officials person said the authorities would unit the institution to adjacent 23 pharmacies successful the authorities and would disrupt work for thousands of customers.

The institution connected Wednesday it welcomed a treatment with policymakers successful Arkansas and different states connected ways to marque medicine much affordable and accessible.

“Unfortunately, HB1150 is atrocious argumentation that accomplishes conscionable the opposite: it volition instrumentality distant entree to pharmacy attraction successful section communities, hike medicine cause spending crossed the authorities by millions of dollars each year, and outgo hundreds of Arkansans their jobs,” CVS Health said successful statement.

Thirty-nine attorneys wide urged Congress this week to walk authorities akin to Arkansas' instrumentality prohibiting pharmacy payment managers from owning oregon operating pharmacies. In the letter, the attorneys wide said specified authorities "would foster just contention and beforehand prime and transparency for the American people."

The Arkansas ban, however, has drawn disapproval from immoderate lawmakers who said it is anticompetitive.

“The authorities should not beryllium enactment successful the presumption of saying, ‘Guess what, we don’t similar our contention and we're going usage the authorities and the instrumentality to enactment our contention retired of business,' " Republican Sen. Missy Irvin during statement implicit the measurement successful the Senate this month.

Several different states person taken up different pharmacy payment manager restrictions this year. In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey connected Tuesday signed authorities that volition necessitate pharmacy payment managers to reimburse autarkic pharmacists astatine slightest astatine the authorities Medicaid complaint for medicine drugs.

Dozens of autarkic pharmacies, galore successful agrarian areas, person shuttered successful Alabama implicit the past 2 years, according to the Alabama Independent Pharmacy Alliance. Pharmacists said that is due to the fact that it tin often outgo much to dispense a cause than they are reimbursed by pharmacy payment managers.

The confederation called the caller Alabama instrumentality a historical milestone but added “there is inactive enactment to beryllium done.”

“SB252 is lone the archetypal measurement successful dismantling the corrupt behemoth that is liable for the accrued outgo of healthcare successful Alabama, each astatine the disbursal of pharmacies, employers and patients," the radical said successful a connection Tuesday. "AIPA volition proceed to enactment with legislators to execute this goal.”

___

Chandler reported from Montgomery, Alabama

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.