Five months after the Supreme Court of the United States handed down a loss to the pharmacy
benefit manager (PBM) lobbying group Pharmaceutical Care Management
Association (PCMA), PCMA filed a brief in the Eighth Circuit
arguing that the Court's ruling does not narrow the scope of
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) preemption for PBM
regulation.
On December 10, 2020, the Supreme Court, in Rutledge v.
Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, ruled that an
Arkansas law prohibiting PBMs from reimbursing pharmacies for drugs
at rates below the drugs' acquisition costs was not preempted
by ERISA, equating Arkansas Act 900 to permissible
rate-setting.
Specifically, Ark. Code Ann. § 17-92-507, commonly
known as Arkansas Act 900, requires PBMs to reimburse pharmacies
for the dispensing of generic drugs at a price equal to or greater
than the cost of the drug to the pharmacy. The law was enacted to
combat the growing trend by PBMs to drive down
