Attorney General Hunter joins Defense of States to limit rising cost of prescription drugs

OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH)--Attorney General Mike Hunter has joined a bipartisan coalition of 46 attorneys general from across the country filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court that supports the authority of the states to address the rising cost of prescription drugs.

The brief is in support of a law proposed by the state of Arkansas in 2015 that sought to require Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) to raise their reimbursement rate for a drug if the rate were to fall below the pharmacy's wholesale cost.

The Arkansas law was challenged by the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA), a PBM trade association, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled in favor of PCMA, striking down the law proposed by Arkansas.

PBMs act as mediators between pharmacies, drug manufacturers, health insurance plans and consumers.

In the brief, attorneys general say that to date, nearly every state has laws that regulate PBMs in some way, with a surge coming in the last five years.

The most recent case was the Patient's Right to Pharmacy Act in Oklahoma last May, which was passed by Oklahoma Legislature.

The bill was also challenged by the PCMA in federal court, and has been stayed pending the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Arkansas case.

"In their position as middlemen, PBMs have the power to manipulate the market as they develop and maintain prescription drug formularies, contact with pharmacies, negotiate discounts with drug manufacturers and process payments for prescription drug claims," said Attorney General Hunter. "In order to protect the well-being of consumers, and address the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs, stated need to and have been attempting to exercise better oversight of PBMs."

Total prescription drugs spending reached $335 billion in 2018 in the United States, 1/10 of overall healthcare spending.