CVS Health has warned it could close all of its 134 pharmacies in Tennessee if a new bill is given the green light by the state’s lawmakers.
If passed, Senate Bill 2040 would prohibit the co-ownership of pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers. The proposal was sponsored by Bobby Harshbarger, a member of the Tennessee Senate.
PBMs act as a middleman between retail pharmacies, health insurance companies and drug manufacturers. They are used by employers and health insurers to negotiate drug prices.
“For too long, pharmacy benefit managers have been allowed to own or control pharmacies while also deciding which pharmacies patients can choose,” Harshbarger wrote in a statement on Facebook.
“That conflict of interest leads to patient steering, reduced choice, and local pharmacies being squeezed out.”
If the Freedom, Access and Integrity in Registered Pharmacy (FAIR Rx) Act passes, PBMs would be prohibited from holding pharmacy licenses from January 1, 2027.
However, Amy Thibault, a spokesperson for CVS Health, said that the bill could lead to statewide closures of the brand’s pharmacies.
“The only thing this legislation does is force the closure of 134 CVS pharmacies,” she told USA Today. “It’s bad for Tennessee, for the more than 1.5 million patients we serve and for the more than 2,000 colleagues who will lose good paying jobs.”
Thibault also warned that CVS Health could have to shut down 25 in-store MinuteClinic locations, but added that the company is committed to working with policymakers.
On Tuesday, CVS Health confirmed to Newsweek that it had already closed more than 1,100 of its pharmacy stores since 2022.
The spokesperson stressed that the closures were not in response to industry conditions and were part of a planned effort to restructure its network of branches.
“We’re confident that our current footprint features the right kinds of stores in the right locations for consumers today,” a spokesperson for the brand said.
Harshbarger said SB 2040 has already passed the Tennessee Senate Health and Welfare Committee.
Last year, a federal judge halted proceedings in a challenge over a similar bill in Arkansas.
Arkansas Act 624 of 2025 would have banned PBMs from holding permits to operate drug stores in the state. However, U.S. District Judge Brian Miller ruled that the bill “likely violates” the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause.
Harshbarger’s mother, Tennessee Representative Diana Harshbarger, has also been critical of PMBs.
In December 2025, she announced in a press statement that she was introducing the Pharmacist Fight Back Act to prohibit PBMs “from engaging in predatory behaviors.”
The Independent has contacted CVS Health for comment.
Source: independent.co.uk