McKee Foods Wins Preemption Challenge to Tennessee Pharmacy Law

Portions of a Tennessee law aimed at increasing pharmacy access are preempted by the federal employee benefits statute and can’t be enforced against certain self-funded employer health plans, a federal judge ruled.

The law’s “any-willing-provider” requirement—which limits a plan’s ability to exclude pharmacies from its network—has an “impermissible connection” with benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, Judge Charles E. Atchley Jr. said Monday for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. That’s because it dictates the scope of provider networks eliminates plans’ “discretion to shape benefits as they see fit,” he said.

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