Express Scripts Sues to Block Arkansas Law Restricting PBM Ownership of Pharmacies

(Corrects the spelling of Arkansas Governor’s first name in the fourth paragraph from Sarah to Sara)
By Diana Novak Jones
CHICAGO (The News Pulse)—On Thursday, Express Scripts along with some associated pharmacies initiated legal action against a new Arkansas statute scheduled to take effect next year. The lawsuit asks for an order from a federal judge to invalidate the law prohibiting pharmacy benefits managers from owning their own pharmacies.
The legal action, submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, claims that the legislation imposes an unconstitutional limitation on interstate trade by adversely affecting external businesses such as Express Scripts, headquartered in St. Louis.
One of the country's leading pharmacy benefit management firms, Express, is seeking a ruling that the law is unconstitutional along with an injunction to prevent its implementation.
Sam Dubke, a representative for Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who enacted the legislation in April, stated in an announcement, “These major pharmaceutical intermediaries are solely challenging Arkansas in court because they fear that other states might follow Governor Sanders in advocating for better patient access and more affordable prescription medications.”
The legal action identifies the members of the Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy, responsible for regulating the state’s pharmacies.
Express Scripts, a part of the Cigna Group, stated in an announcement that this legislation may prevent the firm from delivering medications via its mail-order pharmacy service to numerous inhabitants of Arkansas.
"While Arkansas lawmakers assert that this legislation aims to reduce drug costs and improve medication accessibility, it will have precisely the contrary effect," stated Andrea Nelson, who serves as Cigna's top legal officer.
Pharmacy benefit managers serve as intermediaries, negotiating prescription drug prices with drugmakers on behalf of employers and health plans. They also often manage pharmacy networks and operate mail-order pharmacies.
The new Arkansas law, scheduled to take effect in January, prohibits pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from obtaining licenses to distribute prescription medications and nullifies their current licenses, as stated in the bill.
The legislation aims to reduce anticompetitive practices by the PBMs, as explained by the governor’s office. These entities determine the pricing for medications dispensed via their networks of pharmacies.
In recent years, their business operations have faced growing oversight from U.S. legislators aiming to reduce medication costs, as well as from the Federal Trade Commission. The commission alleged that the three major pharmacy benefit managers were responsible for inflating the price of insulin medications.
(Aditional reporting by Amina Niasse in New York; Edited by Leigh Jones and Bill Berkrot)
Post a Comment for "Express Scripts Sues to Block Arkansas Law Restricting PBM Ownership of Pharmacies"
Post a Comment