March 25, 2025

Arkansas House of Representatives
Committee on Insurance and Commerce
Arkansas State Capitol
500 Woodlane Street
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201

Dear Representative,

The House Committee on Insurance and Commerce will soon hold a hearing on HB 1150.  On behalf of the 15,607 members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) in Arkansas, I urge you to oppose HB 1150, which would ban any pharmacy that has an affiliation with a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) from doing business in the state.

A March 23, 2025, Arkansas Democrat Gazette op-ed highlighted a Justin Wallin Opinion Research poll which found that after hearing arguments from supporters of HB 1150, nearly 80 percent of respondents still oppose the bill.  The survey also found that 69 percent of Arkansas voters are currently satisfied with the cost, quality, and availability of their prescription drugs.  HB 1150 would undercut that availability and raise the cost of access, especially for patients in need of specialty medications.

PBMs administer plans for more than 289 million Americans nationwide and save money for patients by negotiating lower prices on behalf of plan sponsors including businesses, unions, state and local government, associations, and other organizations that provide health insurance to their employees or members.  PBMs save payers and patients an average of $1,154 per person per year.  They use tools like rebates, pharmacy networks, drug utilization review, formularies, specialty pharmacies, mail-order, and audits to drive down drug costs, improve quality, increase patient medication adherence, and prevent fraud.

If HB 1150 is enacted, it would lead to the loss of more than 135 brick and mortar retail pharmacies in the state and eliminate associated cost-saving mail order and specialty pharmacy options for employers.  Because many independent pharmacies lack the logistical ability or expertise to handle the storage and transport requirements that some specialty medications require, patients who rely on specialty pharmacies for the treatment of complex and serious conditions will be at risk of not being able to access their medications.  These government-mandated pharmacy closures would also put pharmacists out of work and push providers out of the state.

The legislation would further distort the medical marketplace with heavy-handed price controls and mandates and put Arkansas business owners at a competitive disadvantage, including the benefits they would be able to offer their employees.  

For the above reasons, I urge you to oppose HB 1150 and the burdensome regulations it would impose on businesses and employees, including increased costs for prescription drugs, throughout Arkansas.

Sincerely,
Tom Schatz
President, CCAGW