ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association issued the following statement on behalf of Karry La Violette, NCPA senior vice president of Government Affairs, after HB 1763 became law:

“States across the country are increasingly scrutinizing PBMs, filing suit against them, and working to rein in their opaque, manipulative business practices. By advancing HB 1763, Texas is among those protecting its small business pharmacies and their patients. Independent community pharmacy applauds this new law, and is grateful to Gov. Abbott and the legislators who helped get it across the finish line.” 

HB 1763 was supported by Texas community pharmacy advocates as well as NCPA, which had recently urged Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to support the legislation. Among other things, HB 1763 would:

• Allow local pharmacies to mail and deliver prescriptions as requested by patients;
• Prohibit pharmacy benefit manager clawbacks;
• Ban PBMs from steering patients to PBM-owned specialty pharmacies;
• Prohibit PBMs from paying their affiliated pharmacies more than they pay other in-network pharmacies;
• Provide pharmacies with legal protections against retaliatory PBM actions;
• Allow pharmacists access to their contracts from pharmacy services administrative organizations, which handle some contracting and administrative services with health insurers and PBMs on behalf of small business independent pharmacies.

HB 1763 was authored by Reps. Tom Oliverson, Cole Hefner, Eddie Lucio III, Cecil Bell, and Richard Peña Raymond. Sen. Bryan Hughes helped usher it through the Senate. The bill unanimously passed the House and Senate.