Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders is expected to sign legislation that would stop pharmacy benefit managers (PBM’s) from owning pharmacies in the state and selling drugs at retail.
Pharmacy Benefit Managers are middlemen who negotiate with insurance companies, manufacturers and pharmacies to set drug prices.
In Arkansas, healthcare companies like CVS own their own insurance company, Aetna, their own pharmacies, CVS, and pharmacy benefit manager CVS Caremark.
Lelan Stice, the owner of Doctor’s Orders Pharmacies in Pine Bluff and Star City was asked what he thinks the legislation will do to his industry and to the price of drugs.
Stice went on to say this.
Morning Show host Greg Horne asked Stice what the legislation will do to consumers in the state?
Horne told Stice that a lot of independent pharmacies in Arkansas had gone out of business and asked if this legislation will slow that trend down or even turn it around?
If the Governor signs the legislation, it would take effect Jan. 1, 2026 and according to the Associated Press, CVS owns and operates 23 pharmacies in the state employing over 500 people.
