Federal Judge Throws Out PBM Suit
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Miller of Arkansas threw out a 2015 lawsuit in which the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) challenged the constitutionality of an Arkansas law governing how pharmacists are reimbursed.
Act 900 requires benefits managers for insurers and health plans to “reimburse pharmacies at or above the cost the pharmacy paid for any generic drugs from a wholesale supplier,” stated the article. Pharmacists argued this law prevented PBM’s from shorting them using Maximum Allowable Cost (MAC) lists.
PCMA argued that Act 900 was a way for pharmacists to make more money at the expense of the benefits plans, and ultimately patients.
Judge Miller noted in his order that “independent community pharmacies have had to eliminate employees during the last five to 10 years due to the financial hardships they have faced. The Arkansas legislature passed and amended Arkansas Code Annotated section 17-92-507 in an attempt to address this issue.”