Arkansas bans pharmacy benefit managers from owning pharmacies in state
[April 17, 2025]
By ANDREW DeMILLO and KIM CHANDLER
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed
legislation Wednesday prohibiting pharmacy benefit managers from owning
or operating pharmacies, becoming the first state to enact such a
restriction.
The measure comes as other states are considering restrictions on
pharmacy benefit managers, which run prescription drug coverage for big
clients that include health insurers and employers that provide
coverage.
Supporters of the restrictions have said pharmacy benefit managers are
forcing independent pharmacies, especially in rural areas, out of
business.
“For far too long, drug middlemen called PBMs have taken advantage of
lax regulations to abuse customers, inflate drug prices, and cut off
access to critical medications. Not anymore,” Sanders said in a
statement released by her office.
CVS Health has been running TV ads in the state opposing the bill and
urging Sanders to veto it. CVS officials have said the legislation would
force the company to close 23 pharmacies in the state and would disrupt
service for thousands of customers.
The company on Wednesday it welcomed a discussion with policymakers in
Arkansas and other states on ways to make medicine more affordable and
accessible.
“Unfortunately, HB1150 is bad policy that accomplishes just the
opposite: it will take away access to pharmacy care in local
communities, hike prescription drug spending across the state by
millions of dollars each year, and cost hundreds of Arkansans their
jobs,” CVS Health said in statement.
Thirty-nine attorneys general urged Congress this week to pass
legislation similar to Arkansas' law prohibiting pharmacy benefit
managers from owning or operating pharmacies. In the letter, the
attorneys general said such legislation "would foster fair competition
and promote choice and transparency for the American people."
The Arkansas ban, however, has drawn criticism from some lawmakers who
said it is anticompetitive.
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Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks at a campaign rally for
presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, in Lititz,
Pa., Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
 “The government should not be put in
the position of saying, ‘Guess what, we don’t like our competition
and we're going use the government and the law to put our
competition out of business,' " Republican Sen. Missy Irvin during
debate over the measure in the Senate this month.
Several other states have taken up other pharmacy benefit manager
restrictions this year. In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday signed
legislation that will require pharmacy benefit managers to reimburse
independent pharmacists at least at the state Medicaid rate for
prescription drugs.
Dozens of independent pharmacies, many in rural areas, have
shuttered in Alabama over the last two years, according to the
Alabama Independent Pharmacy Alliance. Pharmacists said that is
because it can often cost more to dispense a drug than they are
reimbursed by pharmacy benefit managers.
The alliance called the new Alabama law a historic milestone but
added “there is still work to be done.”
“SB252 is only the first step in dismantling the corrupt behemoth
that is responsible for the increased cost of healthcare in Alabama,
all at the expense of pharmacies, employers and patients," the group
said in a statement Tuesday. "AIPA will continue to work with
legislators to accomplish this goal.”
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Chandler reported from Montgomery, Alabama
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