House approves bill aimed at curbing PBM practices to protect local pharmacists
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Summary
The Oklahoma House passed Senate Bill 2074, a measure sponsors described as protecting pharmacists from a 'broken market' by setting minimum reimbursement and transparency requirements for pharmacy benefit managers; an offered amendment was tabled before final passage (87–7).
The Oklahoma House on Wednesday approved Senate Bill 2074, a measure sponsors said is designed to rein in pharmacy benefit managers and shore up payments for community pharmacists.
Chairman Stinson, the bill sponsor, described the measure as “a pharmacy bill to protect our pharmacists from what has become a broken market,” and said it aims to restore fair compensation and transparency in a market dominated by a few large PBMs. Stinson told members the bill would move pricing to a national average acquisition cost benchmark and add a fixed dispensing fee to help smaller pharmacies remain viable.
Representative Jenkins offered an amendment that would remove a specific provision (paragraph h of section 2) but “retain the other parts of the bill that put regulations on PBMs ensuring transparency and compliance,” Jenkins said. The House voted to table Jenkins’s amendment on a division (39–8).
During extended questioning, members asked whether the fee would ultimately fall on employers or employees and whether PBMs could absorb the cost. Stinson said employers and plan sponsors could negotiate how the fee is allocated and emphasized that “they have control of 80% of the drug market,” a point he used to argue the bill is needed so independent pharmacies can compete.
Representative Marty and others pressed the sponsor on fiscal impacts and cited recent settlements and state recoveries involving PBMs; members debated the estimated state fiscal effects shown in committee materials and possible long-term savings to the state employee health plan. The sponsor said some net savings are expected based on changes the PBMs have agreed to after prior enforcement actions.
After debate, the House advanced the bill to third reading and voted to pass Senate Bill 2074 by a recorded vote of 87–7. The clerk declared the bill passed.
The House’s action follows a national push—cited by the sponsor—for greater PBM transparency and comes after attorneys general in multiple states have sought additional oversight of PBM practices. The bill now moves to the next steps required under the legislative process.