TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS PHARMACY BENEFITS MANAGER LICENSURE ACT; TO PROTECT PATIENTS' RIGHTS AND ACCESS TO MEDICATIONS; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.

This bill (SB 104, now Act 514) amends Arkansas' rules for pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) - companies that negotiate drug prices for health insurance plans. It requires PBMs to follow the actual terms of a patient's underlying health plan when making coverage decisions, preventing them from imposing extra restrictions not in the plan document. The law gives Arkansas' Insurance Commissioner authority to enforce this rule and penalize PBMs that operate outside the plan's terms. This directly protects patients by ensuring they can access medications as defined by their health plan, not by PBM policies. The bill was enacted urgently with an emergency clause on April 7, 2025.