Arkansas AG Supports Rx ACCESS Act for Servicemembers

Arkansas AG - News Releases

Published March 17th, 2026

Detected March 19th, 2026

Summary

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin announced his support for the Rx ACCESS Act, introduced by Senator Tom Cotton. The proposed legislation aims to ensure fair reimbursement for pharmacies participating in the TRICARE program, protecting servicemembers' access to prescription drugs.

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What changed

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has publicly expressed support for the Rx ACCESS Act, a bill introduced by U.S. Senator Tom Cotton. The legislation seeks to regulate Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) by requiring them to reimburse pharmacies in the TRICARE program at a rate reflecting the actual cost of the drug or the national average acquisition cost. This aims to prevent PBMs from engaging in anti-competitive practices that burden servicemembers and their families and negatively impact independent pharmacies.

While this is a statement of support and not a final rule, it signals a potential federal legislative effort to address PBM practices. Regulated entities, particularly those involved in PBM operations or pharmacy services for military personnel, should monitor the progress of the Rx ACCESS Act. The AG's statement highlights concerns about market manipulation and unfair reimbursement, suggesting potential future regulatory or enforcement actions if the bill does not pass or if similar issues are addressed at the state level. No specific compliance deadlines or penalties are mentioned in this release, as it pertains to proposed federal legislation.

What to do next

Monitor the progress of the Rx ACCESS Act in Congress.
Review current PBM contracts and reimbursement practices related to TRICARE if applicable.

Source document (simplified)

Attorney General Griffin Expresses Support for U.S. Senator Tom Cotton’s Rx ACCESS Act

March 17, 2026

Griffin: ‘As an almost 30-year Army officer, my family and I have seen firsthand the anti-competitive ways PBMs manipulate the market and burden servicemembers’

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following statement outlining his support for the Rx ACCESS Act, which was introduced today by U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and is co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia):

“I applaud Senator Cotton for standing up for uniformed service members, retirees, and their families by ensuring that they have access to prescription drugs at pharmacies of their choice.

“The Rx ACCESS Act would require pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to reimburse pharmacies participating in the TRICARE program either the actual cost of a drug or the national average drug acquisition cost, thus shielding independent pharmacies from unfair reimbursement practices and empowering military members and their families to use the pharmacy they choose—not the one chosen for them by the PBMs.

“As an almost 30-year Army officer, my family and I have seen firsthand the anti-competitive ways PBMs manipulate the market and burden servicemembers.

“For far too long, PBMs have abused their power to the detriment of consumers and independent pharmacies to benefit themselves. We are addressing this at the state level, and I am pleased to see legislation introduced in Congress to address it nationally.”

To read the Rx ACCESS Act, click here.

To download a PDF version of this release, click here.

About Attorney General Tim Griffin

Tim Griffin was sworn in as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas on January 10, 2023, having previously served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023. From 2011-2015, Griffin served as the 24th representative of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District, where he served on the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Armed Services Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Ethics and House Committee on the Judiciary while also serving as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.

Griffin is currently an officer in the Arkansas Army National Guard and holds the rank of colonel. Griffin served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 28 years. In 2005, Griffin was mobilized to active duty as an Army prosecutor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul, Iraq.

His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana; the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and as a Senior Legislative Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. Griffin earned a master’s degree in strategic studies as a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.

Griffin also served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush; Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Arkansas; Senior Investigative Counsel, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, U.S. House of Representatives; and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel David M. Barrett, In re: HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.

Griffin is a graduate of Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway, and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He attended graduate school at Oxford University. He is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). Griffin lives in Little Rock with his wife, Elizabeth, a Camden native, and their three children.

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