STAT+: Arkansas may force companies to choose between running a PBM or pharmacies
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File this under \u201cYou can\u2019t have it both ways.\u201d<\/p>\n
An Arkansas bill<\/a> that would prohibit pharmacy benefit managers from operating retail and mail-order pharmacies was passed by the state senate and is now headed to Gov. Sarah Sanders, the first time such a bill has gotten this far down the legislative path in the United States.<\/p>\n The bill is designed to eliminate what state \u2014 and some federal \u2014 lawmakers have called a conflict of interest that has forced residents to pay more for medicines and hastened the demise of independent pharmacies. And it arrives as scrutiny of pharmacy benefit managers and their role in the opaque pricing of prescription drugs has increased dramatically. A spokesman for Sanders declined to say whether she would sign the bill and, if so, when. <\/p>\n Continue to STAT+ to read the full story\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n