NASP Petitions SCOTUS to Reverse Lower Court Decision on Oklahoma Law and to Protect Specialty Pharmacies
15 Junio 2024 - 8:21AM
The National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP)
has filed a petition before the U.S. Supreme Court,
asking that the Court agree to support the rights of states to
regulate Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). In 2023, the
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act (ERISA) and Medicare preempt a 2019 Oklahoma
law that intended to protect network access to pharmacy
providers.
“The Court’s decision in this case will impact the nationwide
efforts by States to regulate the manner in which pharmacy benefit
managers conduct themselves toward specialty pharmacies, which are
serving the most vulnerable residents of such States. As a result,
this case will substantially affect the day-to-day business of
specialty pharmacies and their patients,” said NASP in its
petition.
“An insured patient with a rare disease or chronic complex
condition like cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, or
organ transplantation relies on the support of a specialty pharmacy
that is independently accredited to provide the often daily patient
monitoring and management to support therapy adherence and success;
data reporting on patient outcomes; and support for complex
insurance and financial authorizations. Too often these
pharmacies experience egregious below-cost drug reimbursement and
dispensing fees, and other anti-competitive terms that threaten
their ability to remain in network, limiting patient access to
their specialty pharmacy. More and more specialty pharmacies are
being acquired when they cannot compete due to these actions and
are no longer accessible to patients,” said Sheila Arquette, NASP
President and CEO.
In the earlier case Rutledge v. PCMA, the Supreme Court rejected
the argument that state regulations violate ERISA, instead
upholding an Arkansas state law to regulate PBMs. The case
before SCOTUS today is critically important to upholding state laws
that have gone into effect since Rutledge and for protecting the
rights of states going forward to act to protect pharmacy
competition and patient access to the pharmacy of their choice.
# # #NASP represents all specialty pharmacy
industry stakeholders. Specialty pharmacies serve communities of
patients who have complex health conditions like cancer, rheumatoid
arthritis, multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, organ
transplantation and rare diseases. Specialty pharmacies are
accredited by an independent, third party nationally recognized
accreditation organization ensuring consistent quality of extensive
drug management and clinical patient care services.specialty
Sheila M. Arquette, RPh
National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP)
(703) 842-0122
sheila.arquette@naspnet.org