AGD recently signed onto an Amicus Brief, initiated by the American Dental Association (ADA), asking the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to hear Mulready v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA). In the brief, AGD and seven other prominent health care associations ask SCOTUS to review a decision by the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, which found that an Oklahoma law regulating pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) was preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The brief argues that this decision took an expansive view of ERISA and that the Oklahoma law, and other similar legislation, should not be preempted by ERISA. The brief cites the SCOTUS decision in Rutledge v. PCMA, which allowed Arkansas to regulate PBMs and clarified that ERISA preemption does not cover all aspects of state insurance regulation. The brief urges SCOTUS to consider the case to promote consistency in ERISA preemption and clarify that ERISA preemption should only apply to state laws that affect plan administration, not to laws that affect plan benefits. A group of 31 states and the District of Columbia also filed an Amicus Brief asking SCOTUS to accept the case for argument in support of Oklahoma’s position. 
 
The Amicus Brief is available here.
 
Impact on General Dentistry: AGD urges SCOTUS to consider Mulready v. PCMA and uphold the ERISA preemption standard outlined in Rutledge v. PCMA. States must be able to reasonably regulate insurers, PBMs, and other plan benefit stakeholders to protect consumers and support access to care. AGD will continue to track the progression of this case.