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Read. Follow. Verify.Louisiana bill sets reimbursement floors for independent pharmacies and imposes fiduciary duties on pharmacy benefit managers
Last action · April 1, 2026: Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Insurance.Sponsors: Michael Echols and 22 others
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What This Bill Proposed
Louisiana House Bill 919 prohibits s from reimbursing independent pharmacies below the plus the state's Medicaid-adjusted dispensing fee. The measure establishes explicit fiduciary duties for pharmacy benefit managers, mandates full disclosure of manufacturer financial arrangements, and requires the reporting of foreign subsidiaries.
Independent pharmacies gain a guaranteed minimum reimbursement floor for prescription drugs, while s must absorb all associated compliance costs and pass volume-based payments directly to covered entities.
- Pharmacy benefit managers act as intermediaries between health insurance plans and pharmaceutical manufacturers, managing prescription drug benefits and negotiating pricing. context
- House Bill 919 was introduced in the 2026 Regular Session and passed the House before moving to the Senate Committee on Insurance. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
independent pharmacies
Independent pharmacies receive protected reimbursement floors for prescription drugs and dispensing fees.
pharmacy benefit managers
Pharmacy benefit managers must comply with new reimbursement floors, assume all associated costs, disclose financial arrangements, and adhere to statutory fiduciary duties.
plan beneficiaries
Beneficiaries are owed fiduciary duties of good faith, honesty, and conflict-of-interest disclosures by pharmacy benefit managers.
Key Facts
- Pharmacy benefit managers must reimburse independent pharmacies and pharmacists who are not affiliated entities for under-reimbursed dispensing fees.
- Pharmacy benefit managers must bear all costs associated with dispensing fee reimbursements without assigning those costs to plans, members, pharmacies, or pharmacists.
- Reimbursement cannot be less than the most recently published National Average Drug Acquisition Cost plus a professional dispensing fee established by Louisiana Medicaid adjusted for inflation.
- If the National Average Drug Acquisition Cost is unavailable, reimbursement cannot be less than the wholesale acquisition cost plus the state's professional dispensing fee.
Show all 13 facts
- Pharmacy benefit managers must submit annual transparency reports to the department including information on any foreign subsidiary defined in I.R.C. Section 3121(I)(8)-1 by March 1st of each year.
- Pharmacy benefit managers owe a fiduciary duty of good faith, honesty, trust, confidence, and candor to plan beneficiaries and contracted entities.
- Pharmacy benefit managers must notify beneficiaries or contracted entities in writing of any activity, policy, or practice that presents a conflict of interest.
- Any payment or benefit derived from the volume of sales for certain prescription drugs must be passed on in full to the covered entity.
- Pharmacy benefit managers must disclose all financial terms and remuneration arrangements with drug manufacturers or labelers, including formulary management, drug-switch programs, educational support, claims processing, and network fees.
- Information designated as confidential by a pharmacy benefit manager may be disclosed if ordered by a state court for good cause or in a court filing under seal.
- The attorney general retains authority to use civil investigative demand authority under the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act to investigate violations.
- Failure to satisfy the duties established in the bill constitutes a violation of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.
- The provisions of Section 1 of the Act apply retroactively to January 1, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum reimbursement requirement for independent pharmacies?
Do pharmacy benefit managers have a fiduciary duty under this bill?
Are pharmacy benefit managers required to disclose manufacturer financial arrangements?
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News Coverage
Bias ratings based on AllSides / Media Bias/Fact Check
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · passed the House · in Senate committee.
Procedural history
14 actions- Apr 1, 2026SenateCommitteeRead second time by title and referred to the Committee on Insurance.
- Mar 31, 2026SenateReceived in the Senate. Rules suspended. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
- Mar 30, 2026HouseCalled from the calendar.
- Mar 30, 2026HouseFloorRead third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 80, nays 16. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
- Mar 25, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, returned to the calendar.
- Mar 25, 2026HouseNotice given.
Show 8 earlier actions
- Mar 25, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 03/30/2026.
- Mar 23, 2026HouseFloorRead by title, amended, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
- Mar 23, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 03/25/2026.
- Mar 18, 2026HouseReported with amendments (14-0).
- Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Health and Welfare.
- Feb 27, 2026HousePrefiled.
- Feb 27, 2026HouseCommitteeUnder the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Health and Welfare.
- Feb 27, 2026HouseFirst appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/27/2026.
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Show 18 more sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Establishment of PBM Fiduciary Duty and Remedies
The bill shifts legal standards by explicitly creating fiduciary duties for pharmacy benefit managers and linking failures to the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.la.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 80)
- Controversy65Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz45Current news / social attention level
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