By Amina Niasse and Sriparna Roy
June 12 (Reuters) – Cigna’s pharmacy benefits services unit Express Scripts requested on Friday that a federal court strike down a Tennessee state law that it says would restrict access to prescription medications and health care for hundreds of thousands of residents.
Tennessee’s FAIR Rx Act prohibits companies owning pharmacy benefit managers from operating pharmacies or dispensing medications.
Express Scripts said the company sent prescriptions to more than 32,000 people in Tennessee last year.
State lawmakers said the rule is meant to curb anti-competitive practices, while reducing prices and discouraging companies from steering patients toward more expensive medications. The legislation, signed into law in May, would go into effect in July 2028.
Pharmacy benefit managers negotiate prescription drug prices with drugmakers on behalf of employers and health plans. The three largest such companies – UnitedHealth’s Optum Rx, Cigna’s Express Scripts, and CVS Health’s Caremark – operate pharmacy businesses, such as mail-order, specialty and retail services.
Express Scripts operates a specialty pharmacy, Accredo, which provides treatments for rare or complex conditions. The company also offers mail-order pharmacy services and is affiliated with fertility pharmacies in the state.
It launched its suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Rival CVS Health in May launched a federal suit against Tennessee’s pharmacy board, saying the FAIR Rx Act unfairly targets out-of-state businesses.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru and Amina Niasse in New York; Editing by Joyjeet Das and Edmund Klamann)
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