Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America v. Walsh, Acting Commissioner, Maine Department of Human Services

538 U.S. 644, 123 S. Ct. 1855, 155 L. Ed. 2d 889, 16 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 271, 71 U.S.L.W. 4354, 2003 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 4194, 2003 Daily Journal DAR 5265, 2003 U.S. LEXIS 4056
Supreme Court of the United States·Decided May 19, 2003·No. 01-188·Published·Cited by 274 cases

Opinions

[649] Justice Stevens

announced the judgment of the Court and delivered the opinion of the Court with respect to Parts I, II, III, and VI, an opinion with respect to Parts IV and VII, in which Justice Souter, Justice Ginsburg, and Justice Breyer join, and an opinion with respect to Part V, in which Justice Souter and Justice Ginsburg join.

In response to increasing Medicaid expenditures for prescription drugs,1 Congress enacted a cost-saving measure in 1990 that requires drug companies to pay rebates to States on their Medicaid purchases. Over the last several years, state legislatures have enacted supplemental rebate programs to achieve additional cost savings on Medicaid purchases as well as for purchases made by other needy citizens. The “Maine Rx” program, enacted in 2000, is primarily intended to provide discounted prescription drugs to Maine’s uninsured citizens but its coverage is open to all residents of the State. Under the program, Maine will attempt to negotiate rebates with drug manufacturers to fund the reduced price for drugs offered to Maine Rx participants. If a drug company does not enter into a rebate agreement, its [650] Medicaid sales will be subjected to a “prior authorization” procedure.

In this case, an association of nonresident drug manufacturers has challenged the constitutionality of the Maine Rx Program, claiming that the program is pre-empted by the federal Medicaid statute and that it violates the negative Commerce Clause. The association has not alleged that the program denies Medicaid patients meaningful access to prescription drugs or that it has excluded any drugs from access to the market in Maine. Instead, it contends that the program imposes a significant burden on Medicaid recipients by requiring prior authorization in certain circumstances without serving any valid Medicaid purpose, and that the program effectively regulates out-of-state commerce. The District Court sustained both challenges and entered a preliminary injunction preventing implementation of the statute. The Court of Appeals reversed, and we granted cer-tiorari because the questions presented are of national importance. 536 U. S. 956 (2002).

I

Congress created the Medicaid program in 1965 by adding Title XIX to the Social Security Act.2 The program authorizes federal financial assistance to States that choose to reimburse certain costs of medical treatment for needy persons. In order to participate in the Medicaid program, a State must have a plan for medical assistance approved by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary). 42 U. S. C. § 1396a(b).3 A state plan defines the categories of individuals eligible for benefits and the specific kinds of medical services that are covered. §§ 1396a(a)(10), (17). The plan must [651] provide coverage for the “categorically needy”4 and, at the State’s option, may also cover the “medically needy.”5

Prior to 1990, the Medicaid statute did not specifically address outpatient prescription drug coverage. The Secretary’s regulations and guidelines “set upper limits on each State’s aggregate expenditures for drugs.”6 Under plans approved by the Secretary, some States designed and administered their own formularies, listing the drugs that they would cover. States also employed “prior authorization programs” that required approval by a state agency to qualify a doctor’s prescription for reimbursement. See, e. g., Dodson v. Parham, 427 F. Supp. 97, 100-101 (ND Ga. 1977) (“Georgia has historically administered its prescription drug program on the basis of a drug ‘formulary’ or, in other words, a restricted list of drugs for which Medicaid will reimburse provider pharmacists. Thus, any drug not specifically included on the list will not be reimbursed unless prior approval is granted by [the administrator of Georgia Medicaid program]”); Cowan v. Myers, 187 Cal. App. 3d 968, 974-975, 232 Cal. Rptr. 299, 301-303 (1986) (describing 1982 California law providing that certain drugs would be covered under [652] California Medicaid program only after prior authorization). These programs were not specifically governed by any federal law or regulations, but rather were made part of the State Medicaid plans and approved by the Secretary because they aided in controlling Medicaid costs.7

Congress effectively ratified the Secretary’s practice of approving state plans containing prior authorization requirements when it created its rebate program in an amendment contained in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA 1990).8 The new program had two basic parts. First, it imposed a general requirement that, in order to qualify for Medicaid payments, drug companies must enter into agreements either with the Secretary or, if authorized by the Secretary, with individual States, to provide rebates on their Medicaid sales of outpatient prescription drugs.9 The rebate on a “single source drug” or an “innovator multiple source drug” is the difference between the manufacturer’s average price and its “best price,” or 15.1% of the average manufacturer price, whichever is greater. 42 U. S. C. §§ 1396r-8(c)(l), (2). The rebate for other drugs is 11.1% of the average manufacturer price. See § 1396r-8(c)(3).

Second, once a drug manufacturer enters into a rebate agreement, the law requires the State to provide coverage for that drug under its plan unless the State complies with one of the exclusion or restriction provisions in the Medicaid Act. See § 1396r-8(d). For example, a State may exclude [653] coverage of drugs such as “[ajgents . . . used for cosmetic purposes or hair growth.” § 1396r-8(d)(2)(C).

Most relevant to this case, Congress allowed States, “as a condition of coverage or payment for a covered outpatient drug,” § 1396r-8(d)(5), to require approval of the drug before it is dispensed. Thus, under OBRA 1990, except for a narrow category of new drugs,10 “[a] State may subject to prior authorization any covered outpatient drug,” §1396r-8(d)(1)(A), so long as the State’s prior authorization program (1) provides a response by telephone or other telecommunication device within 24 hours of a request for prior authorization, and, (2) except for the listed excludable drugs, provides for the dispensing of at least a 72-hour supply of a covered drug in an emergency situation, see § 1396r-8(d)(5).

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Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America v. Walsh, Acting Commissioner, Maine Department of Human Services, 538 U.S. 644, 123 S. Ct. 1855, 155 L. Ed. 2d 889, 16 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 271, 71 U.S.L.W. 4354, 2003 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 4194, 2003 Daily Journal DAR 5265, 2003 U.S. LEXIS 4056 (2003).

538 U.S. 644 (Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America v. Walsh, Acting Commissioner, Maine Department of Human Services) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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