Two significant bills in Arkansas, House Bill 1150 and House Bill 1442, both of which are aimed at regulating Pharmacy Benefit Managers (“PBMs”) are making their way through Arkansas’s House of Representatives. According to Rep. Brandon Archer, the bills come in response to the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform uncovering evidence of PBMs anticompetitive business practices. Through these bills, the State of Arkansas is attempting to eliminate or reduce anticompetitive PBM business practices and conflicts of interest which have plagued pharmacies across the country for decades.
House Bill 1150
House Bill 1150 is designed to ban and prohibit any pharmacy that has an affiliation with a PBM from doing business in the state. The bill, if enacted, would be a game changer for Arkansas’s independent pharmacies as PBMs would no longer be able to steer patients residing in Arkansas to PBM affiliated pharmacies. However, House Bill 1150 is receiving significant pushback from organizations that support PBMs like the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (“CCAGW”). CCAGW estimates that nearly 150 affiliated brick and mortar retail pharmacies and affiliated mail order pharmacies would be forced to close in Arkansas if House Bill 1150 is enacted.
House Bill 1442
House Bill 1442 is designed to reduce or eliminate PBM conflicts of interest and promote patients’ freedom of choice in the pharmacy they choose to fill their prescriptions. More specifically, House Bill 1442 includes the following provisions to accomplish these goals:
- Prohibit PBMs from incentivizing a patient or plan beneficiary to obtain pharmacy services from a network pharmacy that receives preferential terms from a PBM that are not offered equally at other network pharmacies;
- Prohibit PBMs from allowing a pharmacy to be a limited provider of pharmacy services through networks designed to limit the number of providers in a particular network;
- Prohibit PBMs from limiting a patient’s freedom of choice through financial incentives; and
- Prohibit pharmacies from participating in a plan, agreement, or arrangement that eliminates or detrimentally affects the traditional relationship of physician, patient, pharmacist, and the patient’s freedom of choice of professional services.
Arkansas’s independent pharmacies and pharmacists should learn more about these bills and advocate for needed change as they make their way through the Arkansas legislature in 2025. House Bill 1150 would go into effect Jan. 1, 2026, if it receives approval from the Legislature and is signed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. However, for House Bill 1150 and House Bill 1442 to gain the traction they need to continue progressing, support from local Arkansas pharmacies and pharmacists would help bolster support for these types of changes in Arkansas laws that regulate PBMs and their most troubling business practices.
How Frier Levitt Can Help
Frier Levitt represents numerous pharmacies across the United States assisting them in challenging PBM audits, network access, reimbursement practices (including DIR fees and MAC reimbursement) and providing extensive knowledge on all aspects of the pharmacy-PBM relationship. Contact us to speak with an attorney about how your pharmacy can leverage the various laws and protections afforded to pharmacies, including Arkansas’s PBM laws.
