California Wins State Remand of Opioid Case Involving PBM Role

Express Scripts Inc. and OptumRx Inc. must face allegations in California state court that they improperly dispensed opioids, a federal appeals court ruled.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Monday rejected the pharmacy benefit managers’ appeal to move the case to federal court, saying California sufficiently narrowed its case to focus on actions within the state. The decision affirms a lower court’s ruling.

The state sued the PBMs in the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles in 2023, but the PBMs argued that their business under state and federal law warranted removal ...