Committee passes bill forcing PBMs to choose between being a pharmacy benefit manager or owning pharmacies, setting up state‑level fight over PBMs

House Bill 1150, sponsored by Representative Jeremiah Moore, passed the House Insurance & Commerce Committee following a lengthy hearing with competing testimony from independent pharmacists, pharmacy chains, specialty pharmacies, employers and PBM representatives.

Moore said the bill would remove a conflict of interest when PBMs both set reimbursement terms and operate pharmacies. "The FTC reports over the past year have been quite damning in nature…they reimburse independent pharmacies $97 while reimbursing their own pharmacies $19,200 for the exact same drug," Moore told the committee, quoting investigative findings used by proponents.

Supporters, including the Arkansas Pharmacists Association, local independent pharmacists and some hospitals, said the bill will restore competition and local access. John Vincent, CEO of the Arkansas Pharmacists Association, told lawmakers the measure would require PBM‑owned pharmacies either to be run as pharmacies or to operate solely as PBMs, or to divest their retail operations. Vincent and proponent witnesses said up to roughly…