Minnesota defends N.D. laws on drug-benefit companies
State AG Ellison says states have the right to regulate pharmacy-benefit companies.
July 1, 2021 — 5:26pm
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Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a court filing Thursday that states have a fundamental right to regulate prescription-drug middlemen firms called "pharmacy benefit managers" (PBMs), which control a growing share of the $370 billion-plus retail U.S. prescription drug market.
"PBMs have exploited decades of lax or non-existent regulation to become a massive part of the prescription-medication industry," says a filing from Ellison's office in a case involving a regulatory dispute in North Dakota before the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "State regulation is necessary to curb PBM practices that harm pharmacies, consumers and states."