Mississippi speaker says lawmakers may seek special session to revive PBM reform

House Speaker Jason White said Monday night that legislators are working on a proposal to revive legislation regulating pharmacy benefit managers and may ask Gov. Tate Reeves to call a one-day special session later this week if they reach an agreement.

White made the comments as lawmakers finalized most of a $7.36 billion budget for the next fiscal year and signaled they plan to conclude the 2026 legislative session by the end of the week. He said the House passed a resolution that would extend the session “on paper” to April 15 to give lawmakers flexibility to address last-minute issues.

Lawmakers have struggled this year to agree on pharmacy benefit manager, or PBM, reform after a proposal to increase transparency died in negotiations between the House and Senate. “If we can get an agreement on PBMs, we’re going to ask the governor to call a special session for one day, maybe later this week and see where we get on that,” White said.

White said lawmakers were considering alternative language that “a large portion of the independent (pharmacies) seem to support.” The House bill, authored by Rep. Hank Zuber, Republican of Ocean Springs, would have moved PBM regulation from the state Board of Pharmacy to the insurance commissioner. The Senate version, authored by Sen. Rita Parks, Republican of Corinth, would have kept regulation with the Board of Pharmacy and added language intended to ensure fair dispensing payments, lawmakers said.

Independent pharmacists have warned that without reform their businesses could close, citing low reimbursements and opaque PBM practices. The Trump administration, in a March 18 memo, urged lawmakers to remove a provision it said would interfere with TrumpRx, a government-run website offering cash discounts on prescription drugs. Gov. Tate Reeves also met with lawmakers and encouraged them to find language the chambers could agree on, White said. Mississippi Today reporter Gwen Dilworth contributed to this report.

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