Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Oklahoma Legislature, fetched 2026-07-23. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2 2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
3 HOUSE BILL 4457 By: Newton
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6 AS INTRODUCED
7 An Act relating to pharmacy benefits managers;
defining terms; regulating pharmacy benefits managers
8 interest in a certain license; providing enforcement;
providing a limited exception; providing for
9 promulgation of rules by the State Board of Pharmacy;
allowing for extension of time depending on certain
10 criteria; directing written notice to pharmacy
license holders in violation; specifying written
11 notice requirements; requiring written notice to
patients from pharmacy; providing for codification;
12 and providing an effective date.
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15 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
16 SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
17 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 356.10 of Title 59, unless there
18 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
19 A. As used in this section:
20 1. "License" means a license issued pursuant to Section 353.18
21 of Title 59 and shall include a pharmacy license for a mail-order
22 pharmacy; and
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1 2. "Pharmacy benefits manager" means the same as defined in
2 Section 6960 of Title 36 of the Oklahoma Statutes and shall include
3 an entity that:
4 a. is managed by a pharmacy benefits manager or is a
5 subsidiary of a pharmacy benefits manager, or
6 b. has a direct or indirect ownership interest in a
7 pharmacy benefits manager.
8 B. A pharmacy benefits manager shall not acquire direct or
9 indirect interest in, or otherwise hold, directly or indirectly, a
10 license pursuant to Section 353.18 of Title 59 for retail sale of
11 drugs or medicines in this state.
12 C. On and after the effective date of this act, the State Board
13 of Pharmacy shall either revoke or not renew a license of an entity
14 that violates this section.
15 D. Until September 1, 2028, the Board may issue a limited use
16 license for certain rare, orphan, or limited distribution drugs that
17 are otherwise unavailable in the market to a patient or a pharmacy
18 that would otherwise be prohibited pursuant to this section.
19 1. The Board may assess the need for rare, orphan, or limited
20 distribution drugs pursuant to this subsection before revocation or
21 renewal of an existing license for a pharmacy;
22 2. If the assessment made by the Board in paragraph 1 of this
23 subsection determines that a rare, orphan, or limited distribution
24 drug is otherwise unavailable in the market to a patient or pharmacy
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1 that would otherwise be prohibited in this section, the Board shall
2 convert the license for the prohibited pharmacy to a limited use
3 license for that pharmacy for a period of no less than ninety (90)
4 days; and
5 3. The Board shall promulgate rules to implement the provisions
6 of this subsection. The rules shall establish:
7 a. the process in which a patient, pharmacy, or health
8 care provider may notify the Board of a rare, orphan,
9 or limited distribution drug unavailable in the
10 market,
11 b. the process in which a pharmacy may request a limited
12 use license,
13 c. the timeline in which the Board shall make decisions,
14 and
15 d. the process for emergency determinations due to
16 patient need.
17 E. The Board may extend the use of a license or issue a renewal
18 of a license for a pharmacy that offers same-day patient access for
19 pharmacist services, a prescription for a controlled substance,
20 mental health services, or other critical patient health care
21 services for a period of time as determines by the Board if there is
22 a pending sale of the pharmacy to an eligible buyer.
23 F. This section shall not apply to a pharmacy employer and a
24 pharmacy that:
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1 1. Has direct or indirect interest in a pharmacy benefits
2 manager;
3 2. The pharmacy employer is the sole Oklahoma client of the
4 pharmacy benefits manager that the pharmacy employer has a direct or
5 indirect interest in; and
6 3. Exclusively services the employees and dependents of the
7 pharmacy employer while utilizing the affiliated pharmacy benefits
8 manager in this state.
9 SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
10 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 356.11 of Title 59, unless there
11 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
12 A. The State Board of Pharmacy shall conduct an initial
13 assessment of each active pharmacy license that was issued pursuant
14 to Section 353.18 of Title 59 as of July 1, 2026, and shall send
15 written notice to each pharmacy license holder that the Board
16 reasonably believes will violate Section 2 of this act at least
17 ninety (90) days before January 1, 2027. As used in this
18 subsection, "written notice" means actual notice to the pharmacy
19 license holder via mail or email.
20 B. The written notice required pursuant to subsection A of this
21 section shall include:
22 1. A list of each pharmacy benefits manager that holds a direct
23 or indirect interest in, or otherwise holds, directly or indirectly,
24 a license pursuant to Section 353.18 of Title 59 for the retail sale
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1 of drugs or medicines in this state held by the pharmacy license
2 holder;
3 2. A phone number and email address that is monitored by the
4 Board during regular business hours; and
5 3. A list of Oklahoma pharmacies that hold an active license
6 that are not reasonably expected to violate Section 2 of this act as
7 of January 1, 2027. The list shall include:
8 a. the name of the pharmacy,
9 b. the phone number of the pharmacy,
10 c. the physical address of the pharmacy,
11 d. the website of the pharmacy, if known, and
12 e. an email address for the pharmacy, if known.
13 If the Board has a searchable website that includes the
14 information requires in this paragraph, the Board may provide the
15 website information in lieu of the list.
16 C. A pharmacy license holder with written notice from the Board
17 pursuant to subsection A of this section shall provide written
18 notice at least sixty (6) days before January 1, 2027, to each
19 patient and each patient's prescribing health care provider that has
20 used the pharmacy within the previous twelve (12) months that the
21 pharmacy can no longer dispense retail drugs to the patient on or
22 after January 1, 2027. As used in this subsection, "written notice"
23 means actual notice to the patient via mail, email, or through the
24 pharmacy's patient portal. Written notice shall include the
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1 information under paragraphs 2 and 3 of subsection B of this section
2 provided by the Board to the pharmacy license holder.
3 SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
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5 60-2-14549 TJ 12/10/25
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Req. No. 14549 Page 6Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.