Health Care

States target PBM pharmacy ownership in aggressive new push

CVS Pharmacy is working to block bans in Tennessee and Arkansas.
A CVS pharmacy in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

State lawmakers are opening a new front in their battle with pharmacy benefit managers, advancing legislation that would bar the powerful companies that manage prescription drug benefits from simultaneously owning retail or mail-order licenses at chains like CVS Pharmacy and Express Scripts.

The push gained momentum in Tennessee last week when a House committee advanced a bill modeled after a first-in-the nation Arkansas law. More than half a dozen states have considered similar legislation over the past year, a sign of how the debate over pharmacy benefit managers is shifting. 

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