Solicitor general urges Supreme Court not to review Oklahoma law on PBMs

In a lift for pharmacy profit managers, the U.S. solicitor basic suggested the Supreme Courtroom to not evaluate an appeals courtroom ruling that struck down key elements of an Oklahoma regulation regulating the retail networks created by these controversial middlemen within the pharmaceutical provide chain.

The regulation, which was enacted in 2019, was designed to make sure that pharmacy profit managers keep entry to a lot of pharmacies and don’t steer sufferers to favored shops, amongst different issues. The transfer got here amid elevated concern that opaque enterprise practices have been elevating prescription drug prices for shoppers and well being plans, usually by squeezing independently owned pharmacies.

However the Pharmaceutical Care Administration Affiliation, a commerce group for pharmacy profit managers, sued to dam the regulation and objected to Oklahoma’s try to “intervene” with efforts to manage well being plans that promote “reasonably priced decisions” for sufferers. Particularly, the group argued the regulation was preempted beneath the Worker Retirement Earnings Safety Act and the Medicare Half D program.