Arkansas lawmakers to enforce rule fining pharmacy benefit managers up to $5,000 per violation to protect independent pharmacies

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas lawmakers are cracking down on pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) after passing a law that fines them up to $5,000 per violation of medication pricing standards paid to pharmacies.

According to state law, no pharmacy benefit manager can pay a pharmacy below their cost to purchase a drug and below a fair and reasonable rate on top of that.

PBMs were created to negotiate terms for prescription drug costs for millions of Americans, but recently they have been under fire by federal officials after a recent report from the Federal Trade Commission claimed these companies “may be profiting by inflating drug costs” while also “squeezing main street pharmacies.”

State Rep. Brandon Achor (R-Maumelle), who owns Achor Family Pharmacy in Maumelle, has spoken with KARK 4 News before about PBM entities not following state law and putting his pharmacy, as well as other independent pharmacies, at risk for survival because of this unfair compensation.

He said enforcing this law and the rule that stems from it sets the tone that the state will not put up with pharmacies being ripped off any longer.

“Even despite the fact that they’ve been given so much notice, so much leeway and actually been called to hearings, we are 30 days past them being called to hearings and I am still finding hundreds of violations by these PBMs,” Achor said.

Achor said, that just Tuesday, for example, he spent hours filing 280 claims for violations.

KARK 4 News reached out to one of the main PBM entities Achor has referred to in the past, Express Scripts, and has not heard back. Express Scripts has previously argued that they are working to support and reimburse independent pharmacies.

Further hearings with PBMs accused of violating state law are set to take place next week.

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