PhRMA Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Overturn Maine Rx Plan

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America said July 31 that it will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a federal appellate court ruling upholding Maine Rx, posing another delay in the implementation of the state's prescription drug discount program, the AP/Bangor Daily News reports (AP/Bangor Daily News, 8/2). In May 2000, Maine legislators approved Maine Rx, a first-of-its-kind program that allows the state to act as a pharmaceutical benefit manager for Maine's 325,000 residents who lack drug coverage. Under the program, the state would negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to obtain rebates on prescription drugs equal to or greater than those set by federal law for the Medicaid program. The state would then pass the rebate on to pharmacies, which would give the discount to Maine Rx participants. In August 2000, PhRMA filed a lawsuit against the state, alleging that the law was unconstitutional because it regulated out-of-state commerce and conflicted with federal Medicaid law. A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction that barred the state from implementing the law, but the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted that injunction in May. In June, the appellate court rejected a motion from PhRMA to reinstate the injunction (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 6/19). Maine Human Services Commissioner Kevin Concannon said that PhRMA's decision to appeal the injunction ruling is "disappointing" but "came as no surprise," adding that Maine "would prevail" in the case. Concannon added, "We're in it for the long haul with these guys. It's disappointing in the sense that we've won two full appeals from the appeals court affirming that Maine Rx is legitimate and needed. Yet the industry spends its time blocking and subverting us instead of saying, 'Let's sit down and work this out.'" If the Supreme Court decides not to hear the case, the injunction will be lifted, and the program will be implemented. But Assistant Attorney General John Brautigam said that the Supreme Court will likely decide no sooner than October whether it will hear the case, and Maine cannot launch its program until that decision is made (AP/Bangor Daily News, 8/2).