Summary — H.R. 329 (2025) — PBMs and Pharmacy Ownership (Resolution)
Status
- Type: House Resolution (non-binding)
- Introduced: January 9, 2025
- Committee referral: House Committee on Ways and Means
- Key procedural milestones: Adopted by the House (roll call 92–0); enrolled and signed by the Speaker; taken by the Clerk and presented to the Secretary of State (June 11, 2025).
- Note: The legislative document as supplied contains multiple unrelated ceremonial/resolution texts (tribute and memorial resolutions). The bill title and actions above refer to the PBM-focused resolution described at the top of the record.
Purpose and intent
- The resolution urges the state Attorney General and the Louisiana Department of Insurance to investigate pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) for possible violations of law.
- It also urges and requests the state legislature to consider and pass statutory prohibitions on PBMs owning, operating, or holding a financial interest in retail pharmacies in the state.
Key provisions
- Formal requests (non‑binding):
- Directs/urges the Attorney General to investigate PBM practices for potential legal violations (no specific statutory language or investigatory authority is created by the resolution).
- Requests the Louisiana Department of Insurance to investigate PBM practices that may affect insurers, plan participants, or the insurance marketplace.
- Urges the legislature to introduce and pass legislation that would prohibit PBMs from owning or having financial interests in pharmacies operating in the state.
- The resolution itself does not create criminal or civil penalties, does not change existing law, and does not enact the proposed ownership prohibitions — those would require separate, binding legislation.
Who would be affected
- Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs): the subject of investigations and potential future statutory restrictions on ownership/financial interests.
- Pharmacies: particularly pharmacy entities that are or could be owned/partially owned by PBMs (independent and chain pharmacies).
- Insurers, employer plan sponsors, pharmacy patients/consumers: potentially affected by PBM contracting, reimbursement practices, and any future legislative changes.
- State regulatory agencies: Attorney General and Department of Insurance are asked to undertake investigative actions or inquiries.
Potential impacts and next steps
- As a resolution, H.R. 329 expresses legislative intent and encourages investigations and subsequent legislation; it does not itself change legal rights or obligations.
- If investigations find unlawful conduct or raise policy concerns, the legislature could draft and pass binding statutes to prohibit PBM ownership of pharmacies, which could affect vertical integration, market competition, pharmacy reimbursement, and patient access.
- Any substantive change would require follow-up bills amending state law, plus implementation and enforcement provisions to define prohibited financial relationships, exemptions, and penalties.
Sponsors
- Primary sponsors listed include Bonnie Watson Coleman, Trey Kelley, Travis Weaver, and Dustin Miller; numerous additional cosponsors are recorded.
