ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Pharmacy benefit manager reform legislation signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee (R-Tenn.) is a win for patients and small business pharmacies, the National Community Pharmacists Association says.

“PBMs have exploded in size and in influence in recent years but have been permitted to operate with little regulation, to the detriment of patients and taxpayers,” says NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey. “With SB1617/HB1398, Tennessee is holding PBMs accountable. We’re grateful to Gov. Lee for signing this comprehensive reform legislation, and for the policymakers who fought for it to advance. It’s a great day for Tennessee patients and independent pharmacies.”

Tennessee SB1617/HB1398 was sponsored by Sen. Shane Reeves (R), a pharmacist, and Rep. Esther Helton (R). It was also backed by the Tennessee Pharmacists Association. Among other things, it:

• Prohibits PBMs from reimbursing pharmacies below their acquisition costs, a provision that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Rutledge v. PCMA clarified may apply to employee health benefits plans regulated by ERISA;
• Addresses PBM conflicts of interest by prohibiting patient steering practices through coercive copays and other means;
• Prohibits spread pricing in the commercial market;
• Prohibits discriminatory payments/reimbursements for the dispensing of 340B prescriptions.