The Supreme Court, whose new term begins today, the first Monday in October, will consider a number of cases impacting employee benefits and benefits litigation.  This is the first in a series analyzing these cases as they are heard by the Court.  The first issue up concerns prescription drug benefit regulation, and later in the series, we will address the hot button issue of the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, benefits for railroad workers, and considerations when including arbitration provisions in benefit plans.

On October 6, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear argument on ERISA’s preemptive effect on a state law regulating pharmacy benefit managers’ (PBMs) generic drug reimbursement rates in Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (No. 18-540). The case considers regulation of PBMs under Arkansas law, but because a majority of states have enacted similar laws, the decision in Rutledge will extend beyond Arkansas.  More…