NASHVILLE – The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee related to the unconstitutional, harmful forced pharmacy closure bill, Senate Bill 2040.
After filing the lawsuit, David Marin, president and CEO of PCMA, made the following statement:
“SB 2040 will hurt the very people lawmakers should be trying to protect. By forcing the closure of more than 160 PBM-affiliated retail, specialty, and mail-order pharmacies across the state, lawmakers are creating harmful new barriers for patients. Today, PCMA is asking the Court to protect the health of Tennesseans and block a law that disrupts patient care, destabilizes employer-sponsored benefits, and conflicts with federal law.”
“Let’s be clear: forcing pharmacies to close does not improve access, it takes it away. Tennessee patients should not have to worry that a political decision in Nashville will upend the pharmacy services they count on every day, including life-saving specialty medications and mail-order drugs that help treat chronic conditions.”
“The law also injects instability into one of the most valuable employment benefits – employer-sponsored insurance. In addition to threatening thousands of jobs, it creates new state-specific requirements for multistate employers trying to provide affordable, consistent benefits to workers across state lines. ERISA preemption exists to prevent patchwork regulation like this. Medicare preemption also bars states from dictating network design to sponsors of prescription drug benefit plans under Medicare Parts C and D. Yet this law ignores these federal protections, increasing costs and disrupting coverage for everyone.”
“This law is both harmful and unconstitutional, and we are confident the Court will see it that way. The PBM industry will always stand up for the employers and patients we serve. The right path forward is clear: protect access to care, preserve employer protections, and reject policies that dramatically reduce access to prescription drugs for Tennesseans.”
