Iowa Pharmacy Association Urges Lawmakers to Pass SF 383, Reject Amendments by Big Insurance and Big PBMs

• By: IPA
• On: 05/05/2025 15:02:54
• In: Press Releases
• Comments: 0

The Iowa Pharmacy Association urges lawmakers to pass SF 383 and opposes further changes to the legislation. Opponents of Senate File 383, including Big Insurance and Big Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), are seeking to propose language to “fix” SF 383, claiming their efforts will support small, independent pharmacies and those in pharmacy deserts. Iowa's pharmacy community—united across small, independent, large, rural, and urban pharmacies—rejects this alternative and opposes any further amendments to SF 383.
 
“The pharmacy profession stands together, recognizing that additional changes will fail to address the urgent crisis facing Iowa's pharmacies and the communities they serve,” said Kate Gainer, Executive Vice President & CEO of the Iowa Pharmacy Association.
 

• More than 200 pharmacies have closed in Iowa since 2014.
• A record 31 pharmacies closed in 2024 alone.
• Provisions in SF 383 have passed other state legislatures across the country and exhibit NO evidence of premium increases.

“As a pharmacist and owner of a small and independent pharmacy, I stand firmly against the proposed changes from opponents to SF 383. Further changes to SF 383 are only designed to protect the massive profits of Big Insurance and the PBMs they own,” said Wes Pilkington, President-Elect of the Iowa Pharmacy Association Board of Trustees and owner of Evans Crossing Pharmacy in Evansdale, Iowa. “Big Insurance makes huge profits on the current system which leads to pharmacy closures and harm to Iowa's patients. This legislation is designed to help Iowa pharmacies, NOT protect Fortune 10 insurance companies.”
 
The Iowa Senate has already amended SF 383 to reach a balanced compromise, incorporating concessions for the insurance industry while preserving essential reforms. The anticipated amendment is an attempt to kill any reform and will lead to further closures across the state. SF 383, as it stands, is vital to halting the wave of pharmacy closures and ensuring Iowans maintain access to local health care, pharmacy services, and their medications.
 
Opponents offer no credible plan to address the ongoing closure crisis. Big Insurance and Big PBMs have a plan—to continue profiteering off Iowans' medications while Iowa pharmacies continue to shutter their doors. The Iowa Pharmacy Association, alongside the Iowa Senate, has provided the solution: pass SF 383 without further amendments. We urge Iowa House lawmakers to act decisively and pass this bill as is. Iowa's pharmacies and the patients they serve cannot afford further delays or dilutions of this critical legislation.
 
Learn more about PBM reform and the impact on Iowa pharmacies and patients at patientsfirst.org/Iowa.