Some in the industry expected lobbying spending to level out ahead of the midterms and after numerous pandemic relief bills and the initial burst that a new administration provides.
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Supreme Court Rules that Arkansas Act 900, Affecting the Prices that PBMs Pay to Pharmacies, Is Not Preempted Under ERISA Friday, December 11, 2020
On December 10, 2020, the Supreme Court released its decision in
Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association. Justice Sotomayor wrote the Court’s opinion, which was joined by all Members of the Court except Justice Barrett, who did not participate. Justice Thomas filed a concurring opinion, which expressed his prior opinions that the Court’s ERISA preemption tests have strayed from the text of ERISA’s statutory language.
The question presented was whether ERISA preempts Arkansas Act 900, an Arkansas law that regulates the price at which pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) reimburse pharmacies for the cost of drugs covered by prescription drug plans. PCMA, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, which represents some of the largest PBMs in the country, challenged Arkansas Act 900 by argu