Gov. Landry threatens special session over failed prescription drug prices bill
A pharmacy technician fills a container with pills to put into a drug dispensing machine for an automated line at a pharmacy in Midvale, Utah. ()
A low heat that's simmered for weeks over an attempt to lower prescription drug prices in Louisiana increased to a boil Thursday in the waning hours of the state legislative session, with Gov. Jeff Landry saying he will bring lawmakers back to Baton Rouge to address prescription drug policy.
The eight-week regular session ended with lawmakers backing the less stringent of two measures aimed at regulating pharmacy benefit managers, often referred to as PBMs or 'middlemen' that oversee prescription drug programs for insurance companies and large employers.
PBMs have faced increasing criticism from patient advocate groups who blame them for high medication prices, while independent drugstore owners say they unfairly favor large corporate pharmacies. Some of the country's largest pharmacy chains, including CVS, also operate a PBM, which critics have said leads fewer pharmacy and medication options for consumers.
Landry wanted lawmakers to pass a more aggressive bill that would have prohibited companies from owning drug stores and pharmacy benefit managers, which would have threatened companies such as CVS who own both. The Senate declined to bring House Bill 358, by Rep. Dustin Miller, D-Opelousas, up for a final vote, however, allowing it to die before the legislative session ended.
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Instead, the legislature passed what had been seen as a compromise between the corporate chains and independent pharmacists in House Bill 264, by Rep. Mike Echols, R-Monroe. The bill requires PBMs to be more transparent about their practices with state regulators and to pass more prescription savings on to consumers. The Senate also hastily drafted and approved a resolution instructing the Louisiana Department of Health to study the impact of banning PBMs from also owning pharmacies and to produce a report on the subject ahead of the legislature's 2026 regulation session next March.
,Landry was upset the lawmakers didn't go farther, however, and threatened to haul the lawmakers back into session later this summer to pass the same proposal.
'Yes we will have a special session to lower prescription drugs for our citizens. It's that important!' Landry said in an email from his spokeswoman Kate Kelly shortly before the bill failed.
It's not clear when the governor would call a special session focused on PBMs. Several lawmakers said he was already on his way to France for the International Paris Air Show which starts Monday. He cannot sign off on the paperwork needed for a special session while outside of the state of Louisiana.
Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, told reporters after adjournment the complexity of Miller's bill, along with feedback from stakeholders, led to the decision to back alternative measures. .
'The more that members had the opportunity to really digest what that bill would do – and the conversations they were having back home with both their local pharmacy, the chain pharmacist, who it was going to affect – we really had a difficult time getting a true grasp of what the bill was going to do,' Henry said.
The Senate president said opposition from senators to the Miller bill grew over the day Thursday as more constituents and lobbyists reached out to members. He also said a special session on PBM legislation seems unnecessary because the Landry-backed bill wasn't even supposed to get implemented for another two years. 'I don't know why you would call a special session for a bill that doesn't take effect until 2027,' Henry said.
Arkansas approved a law similar to the Miller bill earlier this year and currently faces federal lawsuits from two of the country's largest pharmacy benefit managers. Henry expressed reluctance to follow their lead.
The Miller proposal drew strong opposition from a plaintiff in one of the Arkansas cases – CVS, which owns the pharmacy benefit manager CVS Caremark. Its campaign to defeat the bill included sending text messages to thousands of members of the public, including state employees and their families Thursday, which led the governor to direct Attorney General Liz Murrill to investigate the company's actions.
CVS Caremark contracts with the state Office of Group Benefits for billions of dollars to manage insurance coverage for state employees and retirees.
'This is not an appropriate use of personal information obtained through a state contract.' Murrill said Thursday morning in a news release.
CVS had said the Miller bill would force it to close more than 125 stores in Louisiana, leading 2,700 employees to lose their jobs.
'Closing drug stores doesn't lower drug prices. Forcing out 20% of the state's pharmacies only makes pharmacy deserts worse,' Amy Thibault, CVS executive director of corporate communications, said in an email.
When Echols made the final pitch for his compromise legislation Thursday in the House, he singled out CVS for criticism, noting he had talked with Murrill about her pursuing charges against the company for violating terms of its state contract when it sent its mass text message to state workers.
'This House is not for sale. This legislature cannot be bullied,' Echols said.
Randal Johnson, with the Louisiana Independent Pharmacies Association, said the Echols bill will be a vast improvement over the current PBM regulations in Louisiana. 'We believe the consumer will have an opportunity to find out what their drugs costs, and the consumer will have the opportunity to have a less expensive cost of medication' under the Echols legislation, Johnson said.
A special session can last no longer than 30 days, and its subject matter will be limited to what Landry wants to discuss if he decides to call it.
Piper Hutchinson contributed to this report.
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