Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
Act 624 of the Regular Session
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State of Arkansas As Engrossed: H2/11/25 H3/18/25 H4/1/25 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1150 3
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By: Representatives J. Moore, Ennett, Wooten, Achor, Lundstrum, Gramlich, R. Scott Richardson, Joey 5
Carr, Vaught, Rose, Hawk, Ladyman, Bentley, J. Mayberry, Duffield 6
By: Senators K. Hammer, J. Petty, Caldwell, G. Leding, C. Tucker, M. Johnson, J. Scott, D. Sullivan 7
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For An Act To Be Entitled 9
AN ACT TO PROHIBIT A PHARMACY BENEFITS MANAGER FROM 10
OBTAINING CERTAIN PHARMACY PERMITS; AND FOR OTHER 11
PURPOSES. 12
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Subtitle 15
TO PROHIBIT A PHARMACY BENEFITS MANAGER 16
FROM OBTAINING CERTAIN PHARMACY PERMITS. 17
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 19
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SECTION 1. DO NOT CODIFY. Legislative findings and intent. 21
(a) The General Assembly finds that: 22
(1) It is beneficial to the State of Arkansas to support patient 23
access to prescription drugs and pharmacy services at fair prices in a market 24
that supports optimal patient care; 25
(2) The Federal Trade Commission and the United States House 26
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform have found evidence of 27
anticompetitive business tactics that have driven locally -operated pharmacies 28
out of business, limiting patient choices and inflating drug prices at 29
pharmacies owned by pharmacy benefits managers; and 30
(3) The State of Arkansas wishes to minimize conflicts of 31
interest by stopping the pharmacy benefits managers acting as a "fox guarding 32
the henhouse" by being both a price setter and price taker. 33
(b) It is the intent of the General Assembly that the State of 34
Arkansas shall improve healthcare delivery in the pharmacy market for 35
patients by eliminating certain anticompetitive business tactics as a basic 36 As Engrossed: H2/11/25 H3/18/25 H4/1/25 HB1150
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tenet of this act. 1
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SECTION 2. Arkansas Code Title 17, Chapter 92, Subchapter 4, is 3
amended to add additional sections to read as follows: 4
17-92-416. Prohibition on certain pharmacy permits for retail sale of 5
drugs or medicines — Definitions. 6
(a) As used in this section: 7
(1)(A) "Permit" means a permit issued under § 17 -92-405. 8
(B) "Permit" includes a pharmacy permit for a mail -order pharmacy; and 9
(2)(A) "Pharmacy benefits manager" means the same as defined in 10
§ 23-92-503. 11
(B) "Pharmacy benefits manager" includes an entity that: 12
(i) Is managed by a pharmacy benefits manager or is 13
a subsidiary of a pharmacy benefits manager; or 14
(ii) Has a direct or indirect ownership interest in 15
a pharmacy benefits manager. 16
(b) A pharmacy benefits manager shall not acquire direct or indirect 17
interest in, or otherwise hold, directly or indirectly, a permit under § 17 -18
92-405 for the retail sale of drugs or medicines in this state. 19
(c) On and after the effective date of this act, the Arkansas State 20
Board of Pharmacy shall either revoke or not renew a permit of an entity that 21
violates this section. 22
(d)(1) The board may issue a limited use permit for certain rare, 23
orphan, or limited distribution drugs that are otherwise unavailable in the 24
market to a patient or a pharmacy that would otherwise be prohibited under 25
this section. 26
(2)(A)(i) The board may assess the need for rare, orphan, or 27
limited distribution drugs for a limited use permit for certain rare, orphan, 28
or limited distribution drugs under subdivision (d)(1) of this section before 29
revocation or renewal of an existing retail permit for a pharmacy. 30
(ii) If the assessment made by the board in 31
subdivision (d)(2)(A)(i) of this section determines that a rare, orphan, or 32
limited distribution drug is otherwise unavailable in the market to a patient 33
or pharmacy that would otherwise be prohibited in this section, the board 34
shall convert the retail permit for the prohibited pharmacy to a limited use 35
permit for that pharmacy for a period of no less than ninety (90) days. 36 As Engrossed: H2/11/25 H3/18/25 H4/1/25 HB1150
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(B) This subsection shall expire on September 1, 2027. 1
(3)(A) Before the effective date of this section, the board 2
shall adopt a written policy to implement subdivision (d)(1) of this section. 3
(B) The written policy under subdivision (d)(3)(A) of this 4
section shall establish: 5
(i) The process in which a patient, pharmacy, or 6
healthcare provider may notify the board of a rare, orphan, or limited 7
distribution drug unavailable in the market; 8
(ii) The process in which a pharmacy may request a 9
limited use permit under subdivision (d)(1) of this section; 10
(iii) The timeline in which the board must make a 11
decision; and 12
(iv) The process for emergency determinations due to 13
patient need. 14
(e) The board may extend the use of a retail permit or issue a renewal of a 15
retail permit for a pharmacy that offers same -day patient access for 16
pharmacist services, a prescription for a controlled substance, mental health 17
services, or other critical patient healthcare services for a period of time 18
as determined by the board if there is a pending sale of the pharmacy to an 19
eligible buyer. 20
(f) This section does not apply to a pharmacy employer and a pharmacy 21
that: 22
(1) Has direct or indirect interest in a pharmacy benefits 23
manager; 24
(2) The pharmacy employer is the sole Arkansas client of the 25
pharmacy benefits manager that the pharmacy employer has a direct or indirect 26
interest in; and 27
(3) Exclusively services the employees and dependents of the 28
pharmacy employer while utilizing the affiliated pharmacy benefits manager in 29
this state. 30
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17-92-417. Notice required. 32
(a)(1) The Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy shall conduct an initial 33
assessment of each active retail pharmacy permit that was issued under § 17 -34
92-405 as of July 1, 2025, and shall send written notice to each pharmacy 35
permit holder that the board reasonably believes will violate § 17 -92-416 at 36 As Engrossed: H2/11/25 H3/18/25 H4/1/25 HB1150
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least ninety (90) days before January 1, 2026. 1
(2) As used in subdivision (a)(1) of this section, "written 2
notice" means actual notice to the pharmacy permit holder via mail or email. 3
(b) The written notice required under subdivision (a)(1) of this 4
section shall include: 5
(1) A list of each pharmacy benefits manager that holds a direct 6
or indirect interest in, or otherwise holds, directly or indirectly, a permit 7
under § 17-92-405 for the retail sale of drugs or medicines in this state 8
held by the pharmacy permit holder; 9
(2) A phone number and email address that is monitored by the 10
board during regular business hours; and 11
(3)(A) A list of Arkansas pharmacies that hold an active retail 12
pharmacy permit that are not reasonably expected to violate § 17 -92-416 as of 13
January 1, 2026. 14
(B) The list in subdivision (b)(3)(A) of this section 15
shall include: 16
(i) The name of the pharmacy; 17
(ii) The phone number of the pharmacy; 18
(iii) The physical address of the pharmacy; 19
(iv) The website of the pharmacy, if known; and 20
(v) An email address for the pharmacy, if known. 21
(C) If the board has a searchable website that includes 22
the information required in subdivision (b)(3)(B) of this section, the board 23
may provide the website information in lieu of the list. 24
(c)(1)(A) A pharmacy permit holder with written notice from the board 25
in subdivision (a)(1) of this section shall provide written notice at least 26
sixty (60) days before January 1, 2026, to each patient and each patient’s 27
prescribing healthcare provider that has used the pharmacy within the 28
previous twelve (12) months that the pharmacy can no longer dispense retail 29
drugs to the patient on or after January 1, 2026. 30
(B) As used in subdivision (c)(1)(A) of this section, 31
"written notice" means actual notice to the patient via mail, email, or 32
through the pharmacy’s patient portal. 33
(2) Written notice required in subdivision (c)(1)(A) of this 34
section shall include the information under subdivisions (b)(2) and (b)(3) of 35
this section provided by the board to the pharmacy permit holder. 36 As Engrossed: H2/11/25 H3/18/25 H4/1/25 HB1150
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SECTION 3. DO NOT CODIFY. Effective date. 2
This act is effective on and after January 1, 2026. 3
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/s/J. Moore 5
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APPROVED: 4/16/25 8
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