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HF213 • 2026

A bill for an act relating to pharmacy benefits managers, pharmacies, and prescription drug benefits, and including applicability provisions.

A bill for an act relating to pharmacy benefits managers, pharmacies, and prescription drug benefits, and including applicability provisions.

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
EHLERT, BAGNIEWSKI, SRINIVAS, WILSON, KRESSIG, BROWN-POWERS and B. MEYER
Last action
2025-02-06
Official status
Introduced, referred to Commerce. H.J. 253 .
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

A bill for an act relating to pharmacy benefits managers, pharmacies, and prescription drug benefits, and including applicability provisions.

A bill for an act relating to pharmacy benefits managers, pharmacies, and prescription drug benefits, and including applicability provisions.

What This Bill Does

  • A bill for an act relating to pharmacy benefits managers, pharmacies, and prescription drug benefits, and including applicability provisions.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2025-02-06 Iowa Legislature

    Introduced, referred to Commerce. H.J. 253 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act relating to pharmacy benefits managers, pharmacies, and prescription drug benefits, and including applicability provisions.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
House

File

213

-

Introduced

HOUSE

FILE

213

BY

EHLERT

,

BAGNIEWSKI

,

SRINIVAS

,

WILSON

,

KRESSIG

,

BROWN-POWERS

,

and

B.

MEYER

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

relating

to

pharmacy

benefits

managers,

pharmacies,

and

1

prescription

drug

benefits,

and

including

applicability

2

provisions.

3

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

4

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H.F.

213

Section

1.

Section

510B.1,

Code

2025,

is

amended

by

adding

1

the

following

new

subsection:

2

NEW

SUBSECTION

.

9A.

“Mail

order

pharmacy

provider”

means

a

3

pharmacy

whose

primary

business

is

to

dispense

a

prescription

4

drug

or

device

under

a

prescription

drug

order

and

to

deliver

5

the

prescription

drug

or

device

to

a

covered

person

by

mail,

6

common

carrier,

or

delivery

service.

7

Sec.

2.

Section

510B.8,

Code

2025,

is

amended

by

adding

the

8

following

new

subsections:

9

NEW

SUBSECTION

.

3.

Any

amount

paid

by

a

covered

person

for

10

a

prescription

drug

purchased

pursuant

to

this

section

shall

11

be

applied

to

any

deductible

imposed

by

the

covered

person’s

12

health

benefit

plan

in

accordance

with

the

health

benefit

plan

13

coverage

documents.

14

NEW

SUBSECTION

.

4.

A

covered

person

shall

not

be

prohibited

15

from

filling

a

prescription

drug

order

at

any

pharmacy

located

16

in

the

state

provided

that

the

pharmacy

accepts

the

same

terms

17

and

conditions

as

the

pharmacies

participating

in

the

covered

18

person’s

health

benefit

plan’s

network.

19

NEW

SUBSECTION

.

5.

Excluding

incentives

in

value-based

20

programs

established

by

a

health

carrier

or

a

pharmacy

benefits

21

manager

to

promote

the

use

of

higher

quality

pharmacies,

22

a

pharmacy

benefits

manager

shall

not

impose

different

23

cost-sharing

or

additional

fees

on

a

covered

person

based

on

24

the

pharmacy

at

which

the

covered

person

fills

the

covered

25

person’s

prescription

drug

order.

26

NEW

SUBSECTION

.

6.

A

pharmacy

benefits

manager

shall

27

not

require

a

covered

person,

as

a

condition

of

payment

28

or

reimbursement,

to

purchase

pharmacy

services,

including

29

prescription

drugs,

exclusively

through

a

mail

order

pharmacy

30

provider.

31

Sec.

3.

APPLICABILITY.

This

Act

applies

to

pharmacy

32

benefits

managers

that

manage

a

health

carrier’s

prescription

33

drug

benefit

in

the

state

on

or

after

the

effective

date

of

34

this

Act.

35

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H.F.

213

EXPLANATION

1

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

2

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

3

This

bill

relates

to

pharmacy

benefits

managers

(PBM),

4

pharmacies,

and

prescription

drug

benefits.

5

The

bill

requires

that

any

amount

paid

by

a

covered

person

6

for

a

drug

in

the

circumstances

detailed

in

the

bill

must

7

be

applied

to

any

deductible

imposed

by

the

covered

person’s

8

health

benefit

plan

in

accordance

with

the

plan’s

coverage

9

documents.

Under

the

bill,

a

covered

person

cannot

be

10

prohibited

from

filling

a

drug

order

at

any

pharmacy

located

in

11

the

state

if

the

pharmacy

accepts

the

same

terms

and

conditions

12

as

the

covered

person’s

benefit

plan.

A

PBM

cannot

impose

13

different

cost-sharing

or

additional

fees

on

a

covered

person

14

based

on

the

pharmacy

at

which

a

covered

person

fills

their

15

prescription.

A

PBM

cannot

require

a

covered

person,

as

a

16

condition

of

payment

or

reimbursement,

to

purchase

pharmacy

17

services,

including

drugs,

exclusively

through

a

mail

order

18

pharmacy

provider.

“Mail

order

pharmacy

provider”

is

defined

19

in

the

bill.

20

The

bill

applies

to

PBMs

that

manage

a

health

carrier’s

21

prescription

drug

benefit

in

the

state

on

or

after

the

22

effective

date

of

the

bill.

23

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