(KPEL News) — Louisiana took its first real shot at breaking CVS Health's stranglehold over state employee pharmacy benefits, but the pharmacy giant managed to keep the biggest chunk of the state's prescription drug business. Lawmakers approved emergency contracts Thursday that carve up the state's pharmacy benefits between two companies starting in 2026. Governor Jeff Landry tried to get lawmakers to ban pharmacy benefit managers from owning pharmacies in Louisiana, which would have hit CVS directly. getty images getty images loading...CVS fired back by texting and emailing thousands of Louisiana residents, saying the bill would force them to close every CVS pharmacy in the state. This is Louisiana's biggest move toward pharmacy choice and honest pricing in years, even though CVS still controls the state's largest pharmacy contract.