In response to today’s ruling by the U.S. District Court upholding Maine’s PBM fiduciary-disclosure law and in an effort to protect Maine consumers and employers from higher prescription drug costs, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) announced it will immediately appeal the case to the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, Mass., the association said today. PCMA is the national association representing America’s pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).

In addition to seeking an appeal of the U.S. District Court’s decision in PCMA v. Rowe, PCMA will also seek emergency injunctive relief to prevent enforcement of the law.

“PCMA intends an immediate and vigorous appeal of today’s ruling,” said PCMA President Mark Merritt. “If left intact, this law will give drug makers the upper hand in drug price negotiations with PBMs. As a result, Maine consumers and employers could see prescription drug costs increase by more than 10 percent, or $1.7 billion dollars, over the next decade.”

Today’s ruling conflicts with the recent findings of two other federal court judges; independent analyses from the Federal Trade Commission, Congressional Budget Office, and Government Accounting Office; and the actions of more than a dozen states in the past two years:

· U.S. District Court for District of Columbia. In December 2004, the US District Court in Washington, DC blocked Title II of the Access Rx Act of 2004 — a law with provisions very similar to the Maine law — from taking effect. In granting the Order, US District Court Judge Ricardo M. Urbina noted that “the evidence before the court indicates that the PBM industry is highly competitive, enhances drug safety by alerting pharmacists to dangerous drug interactions and saves consumers money by controlling drug costs.”

· Most States Rejecting PBM Fiduciary-Disclosure Legislation. In just the first three months of 2005, a number of states have already rejected PBM fiduciary and/or disclosure legislation, including Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, and New Mexico. In 2004, ten states rejected similar legislation, including California, New York, Florida, Washington State, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Kansas, Iowa, and Vermont. In addition, in 2004, South Dakota approved a modified disclosure law that does not designate PBMs as fiduciaries.

· U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In July 2004, the US Federal Trade Commission and the US Department of Justice issued a joint report on competition throughout the health care system and made six key recommendations. In assessing the costs- benefits of PBM “transparency,” the FTC/DOJ report recommends that “states should consider the potential costs and benefits of regulating pharmacy benefit manager

# # #

The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) is the national trade association representing America’s pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). PCMA member companies provide pharmaceutical care management services to more than 200 million Americans.

Contact Information:
Phil Blando
202-207-3614