KANSAS, April 1 - TOPEKA – (April 1, 2022) – Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt today issued the following statement regarding legislative passage of Senate Bill 28, which would regulate pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) operating in Kansas. The bill was approved earlier this week 120-2 in the House of Representatives and 39-0 in the Senate:

“Our office successfully fought at the U.S. Supreme Court to defend the authority of states to regulate pharmacy benefits managers, and I am encouraged Kansas is now exercising that authority. At the attorney general’s office, we are holding PBMs accountable for unlawful business practices that have cost Kansas taxpayers tens of millions of dollars through public healthcare programs. This bill will provide similar protections for Kansans throughout our state, including many independent pharmacies. I commend legislators of both parties who worked together to get this job done.”

In 2020, Schmidt filed a U.S. Supreme Court brief in support of Arkansas’s authority to regulate PBMs. Later that year, the states prevailed in the case, Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association.

Last year, Schmidt announced a settlement with Centene over its PBM services in the state Medicaid program, recovering nearly $27.6 million for Kansas taxpayers. Additional investigations are ongoing.