Share Copy link Email LinkedIn X/Twitter Facebook Print Express Scripts and the main pharmacy benefit manager lobby are suing to block a Tennessee law barring pharmacies affiliated with PBMs from operating in the state. In separate lawsuits filed in Tennessee federal court, Express Scripts, a subsidiary of insurer Cigna, and the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association argue that the law is unconstitutional and will impede access to prescription drugs for hundreds of thousands of patients by forcing PBM-owned pharmacies to close. Express Scripts, which filed its lawsuit Friday, is the second major PBM to sue over the law. CVS’ Caremark filed its own challenge in May. Tennessee’s Freedom, Access and Integrity in Registered Pharmacy (FAIR Rx) Act prohibits PBMs, influential middlemen in the pharmaceutical supply chain, from owning pharmacies amid widespread worries th…

CVS will be hit particularly hard. The Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based healthcare giant has said it will be forced to close 136 retail and specialty pharmacies and halt mail-order services in Tennessee if the law is allowed to go into effect. To prevent that, CVS sued a week after the law was passed. However, the FAIR Rx Act also constrains conglomerates that offer mail-order pharmacy services, including Cigna. The law would force the company to stop shipping medications to Tennessee, affecting access for tens of thousands of state residents — many of whom need specialized, hard-to-find drugs, the company said. Moreover, Express Scripts would be forced to close a dispensing facility in Memphis that manages a “significant portion” of the company’s operations nationwide, Cigna said in its suit.