Anthem, Express Scripts Beat ERISA Appeal Over Drug Pricing

Express Scripts Inc. and Anthem Inc. again defeated a proposed class action claiming they worked together to inflate prescription drug prices, when the Second Circuit ruled Monday that the companies aren’t liable as fiduciaries under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Anthem wasn’t acting as an ERISA fiduciary when it entered into a 10-year contract with Express Scripts for pharmacy benefit management (PBM) services, the Second Circuit said in an unpublished opinion. The decision to sell a corporate asset isn’t a fiduciary action, even if it “may ultimately affect how much plan participants pay for drug prices,” the court said. ...