Oklahoma Pharmacy Benefit Manager Law Trimmed by Judge

An Oklahoma law regulating pharmacy benefit managers got mixed reviews in court when a federal judge invalidated certain provisions as preempted by Medicare Part D rules while rejecting a PBM industry group’s challenges to other provisions.

Oklahoma can’t place geographic restrictions on the retail pharmacies in a PBM’s network because federal regulators have established standards governing network pharmacy access under Medicare Part D, Judge Bernard M. Jones of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma said Monday. State provisions regulating price negotiations are also preempted by Part D’s standards, Jones said.

Jones also rejected a handful of ...