Linda Clark, Health Care Controversies Practice Area chair, is quoted in Law360 in “PBMs Aren’t Ready to Throw in Towel in Preemption Fight” about state bills intended to regulate PBMs in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s Rutledge decision. However, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) is fighting state oversight of PBMs in the courts, seeking to do away with state and federal policies on the grounds that they are preempted by ERISA. In its opening brief, PCMA claimed that the laws in question “directly regulate benefit design and substantive matters covered by ERISA.”
In response to PCMA’s fight, Linda said, “I think the litigation you’re going to see right now is going to be very fact-specific, based upon precisely what the legislation allows the states to do, and then the courts are going to be giving guidance about exactly where that line is with respect to plan design.” She also added that if the court sides with North Dakota, “then PCMA’s going to be really running out of ammo,” and the push for new state PBM laws will likely ramp up.