Arkansas Will Prohibit PBMs from Owning Pharmacies Starting in 2026
Arkansas will ban pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from owning pharmacies beginning Jan. 1, 2026.
As reported by the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) in an April 16 announcement, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ signing of HB 1150 will prohibit state permits to pharmacies that are owned by PBMs. NCPA worked with the Arkansas Pharmacists Association (APA) on the bill and legislative process.
“Today is a new day in Arkansas for our patients, as the fox will no longer guard the henhouse,” said John Vinson, APA’s CEO. “This bipartisan legislation passed overwhelmingly to protect public health and safety for Arkansans. HB 1150 will stop the abusive self-dealing at PBM-affiliated pharmacies that raises prescription drug prices and limits patient access. The pharmacists of Arkansas are very grateful for a courageous legislature and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. We also thank Attorney General Tim Griffin for his support.”
“Time and time again, PBMs have proven themselves to be resistant to transparency and reform,” said Anne Cassity, NCPA’s senior vice president of government affairs. “HB 1150 is a structural change that gets to the heart of the problem: the conflicts of interest inherent in vertical integration that PBMs have been manipulating to the detriment of patients, taxpayers and pharmacies. We applaud HB 1150 and are eager to see its provisions implemented in Arkansas and, ideally, throughout the country.”
ASPEN Celebrates 50 Years of Nutrition Education, Advocacy, Service
The American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) kicked off its 50th anniversary celebration at its ASPEN25 Nutrition Science & Practice conference in Columbus, Ohio, in March.
Check out a special presentation on ASPEN’s website that highlights the organization’s history and leadership. The organization will be adding to this history section as 2025 goes on.
Enteral nutrition traces its roots to Hippocrates, a physician who used rectal feedings around 300 B.C. as enteral nutrition therapy. Parenteral nutrition got its start in the mid 1600s, with a goose quill being used for IV infusions of wine, ale and opiates for dogs.
The ASPEN26 Nutrition Science & Practice conference has been scheduled for Feb. 14-17 in Long Beach, California. Abstract information for the conference will be announced this summer.
