Iowa’s law putting new regulations on pharmacy benefits managers is temporarily blocked from enforcement for Wellmark Blue Cross-Blue Shield health plans and insurance policies.
Chief U.S. District Judge Stephanie Rose issued a temporary injunction last week in the case, brought earlier this month by Iowa’s largest health insurer against the state insurance commissioner. The case challenges enforcement of SF 383, the measure signed into law in June that regulates certain business practices by PBMs, the entities negotiating prescription drug costs between manufacturers, health insurance companies and pharmacies.
The law restricts PBMs’ ability to set certain cost-sharing rates, fees or other financial means to incentivize a person to fill their prescription at a certain pharmacy. It also requires independent pharmacies to be reimbursed at the average national acquisition cost of a drug plus a $10.68 dispensing fee…