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CVS Health may be forced to close over 20 Arkansas stores following PBM law

CVS Health had lobbied against the law, running TV ads and calling on the governor to veto the bill. The company says the law will harm patients and the economy.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health may be forced to close more than 20 of its pharmacies in Arkansas in response to new legislation banning pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from owning or operating pharmacies in the state, Seeking Alpha reports.

The move follows Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ signing of House Bill 1150 (HB1150), a first-of-its-kind law in the United States aimed at curbing the influence of PBMs, often referred to as “pharma middlemen.” The law comes amid mounting national scrutiny of PBMs and their role in rising prescription drug prices.

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“For far too long, drug middlemen called PBMs have taken advantage of lax regulations to abuse customers, inflate drug prices, and cut off access to critical medications. Not anymore,” said Governor Sanders in a statement.

PBMs, including those operated by CVS Health, Cigna, and UnitedHealth, manage prescription drug benefits for large health insurers and administer around 80% of U.S. prescriptions. A recent FTC report accused these companies of charging excessive markups for essential generic drugs over the past six years.

CVS Health, which operates 23 retail pharmacies and over 100 mail-order locations in Arkansas, had lobbied against HB1150, running TV ads and calling on Sanders to veto the bill. The company now says the law will harm patients and the economy.

“Unfortunately, HB1150 is a bad policy that accomplishes just the opposite,” CVS said in a statement. “It will take away access to pharmacy care in local communities, hike prescription drug spending across the state by millions of dollars each year, and cost hundreds of Arkansans their jobs.”

The closures significantly develop the growing debate over PBM regulation and could signal similar legislative efforts in other states.

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