Circuit Court Strikes Blow to Maryland Drug Pricing Measure

On April 13, 2018, the United States of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit struck down the first-in-the-nation law aimed at lowering the price of off-patent or generic drugs. The Court, in a two-to-one ruling, stated the law is in violation of the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution and therefore, is unconstitutional. In 2017, Maryland became the first state to allow its attorney general to take legal action against drug companies after they increase the price of off-patent or generic drugs. The bill was passed by the Maryland legislature but became law without the signature of the state’s governor, Larry Hogan. Hogan did not sign the legislation due to concerns that it was unconstitutional. “Although we sympathize with the consumers affected by the prescription drug manufacturers’ conduct and with Maryland’s efforts to curtail prescription drug price gouging, we are constrained to apply the dormant commerce clause to the Act,” Judge Stephanie D. Thacker wrote for the majority opinion. “We hold that the Act is unconstitutional under the dormant commerce clause because it directly regulates transactions that take place outside Maryland.” Thacker went on to state, “To be clear, we in no way mean to suggest that Maryland and other states cannot enact legislation meant to secure lower prescription drug prices for their citizens.” This may signal that the fight – even in Maryland – is far from over. The Court remanded the lawsuit back down to th...
Source: Policy and Medicine - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs