Committee advances bill targeting PBM vertical integration to protect independent pharmacies
Lawmakers advanced HB 3,538 to limit vertical integration by pharmacy benefit managers and to reduce practices alleged to steer patients away from independent pharmacies; sponsor said the bill forces divestiture rather than pharmacy closures and cited federal warnings about PBM conduct.
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Representative Marty (speaker 4) presented House Bill 3,538, describing it as a measure to address "monopolistic practices of pharmacy benefit managers and their vertical integration system." Marty cited federal reports and a congressional study, and said the bill would require PBMs to divest retail pharmacy ownership rather than forcing closures: "The bill forces the industry out of vertical integration. If they choose to divest those pharmacies, they can divest those pharmacies. They don't have to be closed."
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