Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt announces PBM reform legislation signed into law

Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt announces PBM reform legislation signed into law

Topeka, Kan. - Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt, today, announced that the Kansas Consumer Prescription Protection and Accountability Act has been signed into law. The legislation, written by Schmidt's office, will help rein in pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which are the middlemen between drug and insurance companies who have been driving up prescription costs for decades.

"As a local pharmacist for over 40 years, I have seen firsthand PBM practices hurt local pharmacists and as Insurance Commissioner, I can attest to the complaints Kansans have about PBMs."

The Kansas Consumer Prescription Protection and Accountability Act requires PBMs to pass all drug rebates to health plans and bans a practice called "spread pricing" where a PBM charges a health plan more than it reimbursed a pharmacy. The bill also aims to protect patient choices and local pharmacies by requiring all pharmacies to be reimbursed the same. Finally, it gives the Department of Insurance tools to ensure transparency and accountability.

"I am proud to have stood with Kansans, local businesses and rural communities to make health care in Kansas more transparent, more accessible and less expensive for all Kansans."

The Department is actively working to prepare for implementation on July 1, 2026. A copy of the enrolled bill can be found here: https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/documents/sb20_enrolled.pdf.

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