The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association is suing Arkansas for a new law that determines how pharmacists are reimbursed for the generic drugs they dispense, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

The law, which took effect July 22, requires benefits managers to reimburse pharmacies at or above the cost the pharmacy paid for the drug from a wholesale supplier, the newspaper reported.

Pharmacists say the law is needed because the cost of generic drugs have been skyrocketing and benefit managers have not been adjusting their reimbursement rates to keep up.

However, PCMA argues the law essentially gives pharmacies a "blank check." The end result, the association argues, will be higher drug costs for consumers.

"At a time when people are concerned about rising health costs, this new law forces employers and consumers to pay drugstores higher rates for prescription drugs," PCMA CEO Mark Merritt said.

The National Community Pharmacists Association argues otherwise. CEO B. Douglas Hoey called the law an effort "to bring more transparency to the generic drug pricing and reimbursement process."

"The staunch opposition of (pharmacy benefit manager) corporations to more openness and disclosure is motivated purely by the desire to cling to windfall profits, plain and simple," he said.

Drug costs can soar virtually overnight while benefit managers may wait a month or more before adjusting reimbursement rates, Hoey said. http://bit.ly/1MtP5Hl

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