FTC

Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA)

The Supreme Court of the United States issued its landmark ruling in Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA), determining whether community pharmacies are protected from abusive payment practices.

The unanimous (8 to 0) decision ruled in favor of the interests of patients and community pharmacies, who have been fighting for years to regulate pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), the controversial middlemen that manage prescription drug benefits for health insurers, Medicare Part D drug plans, and large employers. With this ruling, states will have greater authority to protect their local businesses and their patients from PBM overreach.

"This is a historic victory for independent pharmacies and their patients. And it confirms the rights of states to enact reasonable regulations in the name of fair competition and public health," said National Community Pharmacists Association CEO B. Douglas Hoey, pharmacist, MBA.

At issue was the extent to which the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), which regulates private employee benefit plans, preempts the states from regulating the amount that PBMs pay pharmacies to dispense prescription drugs that are covered by an employer-sponsored health plan.

There are other important cases working their way through the courts, and there will be lots more legislative activity in Congress and the states on which NCPA will be leading the fight. We need your help, so please consider making a donation to the NCPA Legislative/Legal Defense Fund.

Resources

• Rutledge v. PCMA, No. 18-540 (U.S.): One Pager on Unanimous Decision Reversing Eighth Circuit