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Committee approves bill letting pharmacists recover damages from PBM violations
Summary
The committee amended and passed SB583 to give pharmacists a private right of action to recover losses when pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) violate state law, alongside existing enforcement by the state Insurance Department.
An Arkansas Senate committee on Wednesday approved SB583 after adopting an amendment to add a House sponsor and to address concerns raised by the University of Arkansas system.
Senator Clark Tucker, the bill sponsor, told the committee the state—urrently allows the Insurance Department to pursue PBMs for selling drugs below market value to pharmacists but provides no direct path for pharmacists to recover losses. "The issue is that under the current law, the pharmacist is really the one that suffers the harm," Tucker said. "This would put the pharmacist in a position to recover their own damages."
Tucker said the bill would operate in parallel to Insurance Department enforcement: regulators could still fine PBMs, while pharmacists would have a private right to seek compensation for out-of-pocket losses when a PBM violates the law.
Committee members asked technical questions about penalties and language in the amendment; Senator Deese noted an engrossing change that appeared to strike a $10,000 per-violation cap and then reinserted it as part of the redrafting process.
After brief discussion and no registered opponents, the committee adopted the amendment and voted by voice to pass SB583 as amended. The committee—hair announced "Motion carried. ... You passed your bill," recognizing Tucker.
The bill will now move to the full Senate. Tucker said he had consulted with the Insurance Department and had not received a formal opposition; he also said the bill aims to give pharmacists a remedy for direct economic harm caused by PBM practice.
Key points: SB583 creates a civil remedy for pharmacists to recover damages when PBMs violate state law; the Insurance Department retains enforcement authority.
