NCPA, IPA File Brief in Federal Appeals Court in PBMs' Case Against Iowa Drug Pricing Transparency Law

Press Release

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) and the Iowa Pharmacy Association (IPA) have filed an amicus curiae brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in support of the state of Iowa and against a challenge by the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) to the state’s MAC transparency law. PCMA is appealing a decision of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa that dismissed PCMA’s remaining claims, which sought to block implementation of H.F. 2297, a bill creating more transparency as to how pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) corporations administer reimbursements for multi-source generic prescription drugs in Iowa. NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey, RPh, MBA, issued the following statement:

“Multiple courts have dismissed PCMA’s legal arguments that would preserve the status quo for PBM corporations’ unfair business practices. The Iowa legislature unanimously approved H.F. 2297 because it recognized the importance of providing transparency to the system for generic prescription drug reimbursement. PCMA has been throwing specious arguments against the wall in the hopes that something sticks and allows PBM corporations to continue to unfairly operate their businesses at the expense of everyone else.

“The amicus curiae brief submitted by NCPA and IPA supports the lower court’s decision and puts forth compelling legal reasons why Iowa’s law is not preempted by ERISA or is unconstitutional under the so-called dormant Commerce Clause of the Constitution as PCMA has alleged. We hope the Eighth Circuit rejects PCMA’s desperate attempt to invalidate the legality of the drug price transparency law. That outcome would help patients and Iowa’s pharmacies, which are given virtually no information about the criteria PBM corporations use to determine reimbursements--while also being forced to absorb financial losses because PBM corporations fail to update their price lists in a timely fashion, even when price spikes occur.”

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The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA®) represents the interests of America's community pharmacists, including the owners of more than 22,000 independent community pharmacies. Together they represent an $81.4 billion health care marketplace and employ more than 314,000 individuals on a full or part-time basis. To learn more, go to www.ncpanet.org, visit facebook.com/commpharmacy, or follow NCPA on Twitter @Commpharmacy.

About The Iowa Pharmacy Association

The Iowa Pharmacy Association is the state society representing the profession of pharmacy in Iowa, united for the purpose of promoting safe and effective medication use to improve the health of patients. Since 1880, the Iowa Pharmacy Association is organized to preserve and advance the interests of the profession and to serve the professional needs of all pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians.