HB 938 Louisiana House · 2026 Regular Session

INSURANCE/HEALTH: Provides relative to pharmacy benefit managers (RE +$3,187,173 SG EX See Note)

HB 938 requires pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in Louisiana to reimburse pharmacies at the National Average Drug Acquisition Cost (NADAC) plus a standard dispensing fee for all prescriptions, regardless of whether the pharmacy is independent or affiliated with the PBM. It prohibits PBMs from retaining rebates from drug manufacturers, mandating that all rebates be passed through to health plan sponsors as lower premiums, reduced patient costs, or broader coverage. The bill also limits payment errors to a 2% rate for prescription claims, establishes a formal appeal process for pharmacies disputing underpayments, and grants state regulators access to PBM data for oversight. This directly affects Louisiana pharmacies, PBMs, and health plans by standardizing payments, increasing transparency, and reducing financial disputes.

Issues: ✓ Healthcare

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

House Passage

Apr 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 27, 2026 Last action May 14, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB938 Reengrossed → HB938 Engrossed · 3 edits · Apr 9, 2026

MINOR

The bill was renumbered from 'Reengrossed' to 'Engrossed' and the sponsor list was reduced from multiple representatives to a single representative, Turner. The substantive policy text regarding pharmacy reimbursement and definitions appears to remain unchanged, though the document formatting and pagination were updated.

TECHNICAL

The bill title changed from 'REENGROSSED' to 'ENGROSSED', indicating a procedural update in the legislative process.

The list of bill sponsors was shortened from multiple representatives to only Representative Turner.

Page counts and internal document headers were updated to reflect the new version number.

HB938 Original → HB938 Reengrossed · 6 edits · Apr 9, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was reengrossed to add multiple new sponsors, update the act's title to include new provisions for definitions, rebate pass-throughs, and reverse auctions, and significantly restructure the reimbursement rules for pharmacy benefit managers. The most critical change involves shifting the reimbursement standard to require payment based on 'acquisition cost' (NADAC) or a comparable benchmark, replacing the previous language that referenced 'local pharmacy reimbursement' and 'National Average Drug Acquisition Costs' in a less specific manner. This change aims to ensure pharmacies receive fairer compensation for dispensing drugs by standardizing the pricing benchmark used by insurance plans.

Scope change

The scope of the bill was expanded to include new definitions and specific requirements for pharmacy benefit manager income restrictions, rebate pass-throughs, and data disclosure, while the specific reimbursement obligations were tightened to mandate NADAC-based calculations.

SCOPE

Added multiple new sponsors to the bill, including Representatives Adams, Bamburg, Berault, and others.

DEFINITION

Updated the list of amended statutes to explicitly include new sections for definitions, rebate pass-through, disclosure requirements, and reverse auctions.

Added specific definitions for 'Acquisition cost', 'Adjustment factor', 'Claim payment error', and 'Reimbursement formula' to standardize how reimbursement is calculated.

REQUIREMENT

Replaced the term 'local pharmacy' with 'contracted pharmacist or local pharmacy' to clarify who receives the mandated reimbursement.

Changed the reimbursement standard from a general reference to 'National Average Drug Acquisition Cost' to a specific requirement to reimburse based on 'acquisition cost' (NADAC) or an alternative benchmark that results in fewer and smaller claim payment errors.

Reorganized the reimbursement requirements into a clearer structure with specific subsections for adopting a reimbursement formula using NADAC or an approved alternative.

Floor votes · House Apr 9, 2026

How they voted

88–9

Passed · 8 other

Total votes 105

Apr 9, 2026

D Democratic33

19 Yea 9 Nay 5

57% Yea

R Republican72

69 Yea 3

95% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 14, 2026

Committee

Read by title. Recommitted to the Committee on Finance.

upper

May 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Committee amendments read and adopted.

upper

May 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported with amendments.

upper

Apr 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 87, nays 9. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.

lower

Apr 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported with amendments (14-0).

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Committee

Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Insurance.

lower

Feb 27, 2026

Committee

Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Insurance.

lower

1 primary · 17 co-sponsors