One of the most impressive state-level PBM reforms from the past year has been the bill passed in Arkansas prohibiting state permits to pharmacies owned by PBMs effective Jan. 1, 2026. During the second general session of the 2025 NCPA Annual Convention, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) did NCPA the honor of engaging in conversation with NCPA CEO Douglas Hoey and President-Elect Kristen Riddle on the importance of that reform as a sort of template for other states' reforms, as well as the goals of her administration overall. The bill's passage occurred in spite of strong opposition by PBM lobbyists.
"The world didn't end like they said it would. And so, in fact, it got better because it protected our local independent pharmacists, it created and continued a lot of access to care for people in smaller communities, which we have a lot of in our state. And the prices have remained steady; we're hopeful that we'll be able to continue to do things that bring the price of prescription drugs down," Sanders said.
She also shared her personal story of surviving thyroid cancer and the value of her relationship with her local pharmacist in her treatment.
"They removed dozens and dozens of lymph nodes. [I'm] totally healthy, doing great, but I take a daily medicine, and I will for the rest of my life, and I go to our local pharmacy. If I'm being honest, there are many times where I may or may not forget to get that prescription filled on a Friday afternoon at five o'clock or a Saturday morning, I'm frantically calling my pharmacist," she said.
"If I didn't have that kind of relationship, if I didn't know the person that was on the other side of the counter, it wouldn't be nearly as easy," Sanders said. "That's the difference that having local, independent pharmacists [makes], and one of the reasons to me that it's so critical that we protect them, that we fight for them, and that we make sure they continue to exist."
NCPA is grateful to Sanders for her critical work supporting community pharmacists in Arkansas, her willingness to speak at the convention, and her candor in sharing her story.
