BY JOHN BRICE
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
CHAMBERS COUNTY — Senate Bill 252 known as the “Community Pharmacy Relief Act” was passed unanimously in a 32-0 vote by the Alabama Senate on Thursday, Mar. 20.
Valley Pharmacy owner Craig Moore serves as the President of the Alabama Independent Pharmacy Alliance which drafted and submitted the original Senate Bill 99 legislation which sought to reform the practices of pharmacy benefits managers (PBM). After being merged with the competing PBM reform Senate Bill 93 which was introduced by the Alabama Pharmacy Association the final result was Senate Bill 252.
“Two bills were filed dealing with PBM Reform,” Moore said. “The Alabama Pharmacy Association (an Association representing pharmacists from all walks of life to include, Academia, Chain Pharmacies, Hospital Pharmacies, Long Term Care Pharmacies and Independent Pharmacies) and the American Pharmacy Cooperative Inc. (a purchasing group) filed Senate Bill 93 and the Alabama Independent Pharmacy Alliance (a newly formed group that represents only independent community owned pharmacies) filed Senate Bill 99. Senate leadership told both groups that the bills would have to be merged if the issue was to be addressed. Mediation took place between the groups and Senate leadership and the bills were merged.
“The opposition to the bill, Business Council of Alabama on behalf of BCBS of Alabama was allowed to give input on the bill which the Senate leadership incorporated into the document.”
Moore said there were negotiations had that led to an agreement.
“Yes, there were multiple compromises made,” Moore said. “The three parties representing pharmacies made several compromises within that group which we all agreed upon. The inclusion of the BCBS and BCA language was not favorable to pharmacy, and we were not comfortable with it. But, in the end, to get a bill introduced, we did not have a choice. The Senate leadership indicated that they wanted to focus on reimbursement and that they would prefer to come back next year and refine the law. Leadership acknowledged that this bill was more of a lifeline to help community pharmacies and that the other issues like transparency, specialty drugs, spread pricing and rebate pass throughs could be handled at a later date.”
Moore also described the reaction to the bill’s passage.
“[It is] bitter sweet,” he said. “We are grateful for the reimbursement adjustment, but we were disappointed that the implementation date was pushed back some 26 weeks which will be Oct. 1, 2025. We were asking for immediate implementation.”
Moore talked about how many locally-owned pharmacies are closing.
“So far this year, we are averaging a pharmacy closure per week,” he said. “By pushing the implementation date back that means that some pharmacies won’t be able to hold on [until October]. One of the biggest disappointments was the Senate placed a two year Sunset Clause on the bill. That means that the bill will come up for reconsideration in 2027. At that time, they could basically keep the bill in place as is, adjust the bill or cancel it all together. As we were told, you can’t get everything you want, personally, I felt like the Senate missed a great opportunity to be a leader on the issue rather than just placating all parties. In that 2026 is an election year, we are fearful that no additional action will take place.”
What’s next?
“The next step is the House of Representative will take up the measure after they return from spring break which will be next week,” Moore explained. “Based upon our intel, the bill stands a good chance to pass in the current form. Last year the opposition created a narrative that a $10.64 tax would be assessed on every prescription and passed along to the consumer or the employer which is not true. They have already began ramping up the rhetoric again.”
The bill could take one of three paths:
- The House could vote on it as is. If that is the path, then it could pass or it could fail.
- The second option would be that the House could amend the bill. If the bill is amended, the bill would go back to the Senate for consideration. The Senate and the House leadership would appoint a committee to hammer out a solution.
- The final option is the Speaker of the House could let the bill die in the ‘to be considered’ file.
“There is still work to be done,” Moore concluded. “Even if the House passes the bill as it, the issue will only be semi-resolved until 2027.”
