- 2026, Consumer
Prohibit pharmacy benefits managers from owning or controlling Tennessee pharmacies and require disclosure, enforcement, and penalties for violations.
HB 1959 / SB 2040
Bill Description
Bill Sponsors
Rep. Rick Scarbrough
Sen. Bobby Harshbarger
Bill Co-Sponsors
House: Sexton, Atchley, Russell, Reedy, Butler, Stinnett, Sparks, Williams, Marsh, Faison, Darby, Hicks G, Lafferty, Crawford, Grills, Kumar, Hicks T, Cochran, Raper, Bricken, Capley, Sherrell, Moody, Alexander, Helton-Haynes, Carringer, Haston, Behn, Barrett, Powers, Eldridge, Martin G, Reneau, White
Senate: Haile, Reeves, McNally, Hatcher, Lowe, Watson, Yager, Hensley, Bowling, Pody
TLRC Statement on Bill
HB1959, the “Freedom, Access, and Integrity in Registered Pharmacy (FAIR Rx) Act,” would prohibit pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) from owning or exercising control over pharmacies in Tennessee by amending Title 63. In practice the law would sever or prevent vertical integration in which a PBM that administers prescription drug benefits also owns or controls brick-and-mortar or mail-order pharmacies, removing a structural conflict of interest that can steer patients to PBM‑owned outlets and disadvantage independent community pharmacies.
From a conservative, pro‑market perspective this is primarily a competition and property-rights measure: it protects independent pharmacists’ ability to compete on price and service, preserves consumers’ access to local pharmacies, and prevents concentrated private power (a quasi-monopoly) from using its administrative role to foreclose rivals. The measure appears narrowly targeted — focusing on ownership/control relationships rather than dictating clinical practice — and, according to available fiscal notes, does not create new regulatory boards or a major new state bureaucracy. Opponents will argue it is regulatory interference in private contracting; supporters can reasonably reply it restores fair competition and protects citizens’ earned livelihoods and local commerce.
