Shawn Sams, an NCPA member and pharmacist at Louis Morgan No. 4 in Longview, Texas, was the subject of a recent newspaper article explaining the harms PBMs cause through anticompetitive practices, and the reforms he wants passed to level the playing field in the Lone Star State. He is the new chair of the Independent Pharmacy Academy, part of the Texas Pharmacy Association, which engages in advocacy and business-building activities to keep independents strong.
Sams told the newspaper that he wants Texas to adopt legislation requiring PBMs to pay themselves and other pharmacies the same reimbursement rates and join Arkansas and Tennessee in passing a law prohibiting companies from owning both a PBM and a pharmacy at the same time.
“We just want something that will be passed that helps protect us and then allows independent pharmacies to stay open,” Sams said.
You can read the article in the Longview News-Journal here (paywalled).
