Litigation

Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) v. Mulready

Date Filed: October 25, 2019
Status: Decided
District Court: District Court of Western District of Oklahoma – No. 5:19-cv-00977-SLP
Appellate Court: Tenth Circuit – No. 22-06074
Nature of Suit: Pharma Legislation Challenge
Defendant Type: State
Plaintiff Type: Private

The 2019 Oklahoma law, Patient’s Right to Pharmacy Choice Act, targets PBM conflict of interest by prohibiting higher reimbursement rates for PBM-owned pharmacies and bans PBMs from preventing pharmacies to disclose cost information to consumers. PCMA filed suit in Oklahoma district court just before the new law takes effect on November 1, 2019, arguing that the law “operates primarily to weaken competition among pharmacies by limiting the ability of PBMs to offer their cost-saving and quality assurance initiatives within the State of Oklahoma.” The parties agreed to a stay in the lawsuit as the Supreme Court had granted review of the lawsuit challenging a similar Arkansas law, PCMA v. Rutledge. Following the ruling in Rutledge, the trial proceeded and the district court upheld most of the provisions of the Patient’s Right to Pharmacy Choice Act.

The case was appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, where thirty-four states and the District of Columbia have filed an amicus brief in support of Oklahoma. On August 17, 2023, the appeals court overturned the lower court decision and invalidated four provisions of the law, ruling that they were preempted by federal law.


Associated Legislation:

HB 2632 – Oklahoma
Introduced:    Status: Enacted
[Enforcement suspended pending litigation] An Act relating to insurance; creating the Patient’s Right to Pharmacy Choice Act; declaring purpose; defining terms; providing for compliance standards for retail pharmacy networks; providing for review of retail pharmacy …