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 Text size Copy shortlink:
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.