PCMA, CVS, Cigna File Lawsuits Over ‘Dangerous’ Arkansas PBM Law

Jun 12
Jun 12, 2025

The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA), CVS Health Corp. and The Cigna Group recently filed separate lawsuits challenging an Arkansas law that will ban companies from owning both PBMs and pharmacies in the state. PCMA, the PBM industry’s trade group, filed its lawsuit on June 9, while CVS and Cigna filed theirs on May 29. Navitus Health Solutions, a pass-through PBM that is not a member of PCMA, is also a plaintiff in the PCMA lawsuit. The companies and trade group are seeking a preliminary injunction to delay the law, which is set to go into effect at the start of next year.

Rahul Rao, a White & Case partner and former deputy director of the Federal Trade Commission’s bureau of competition, tells AIS Health that while the Arkansas law is state-specific and being challenged in court, “it is significant in the sense that the drug supply distribution model is fundamentally one that people are questioning — and this is coming from all sides of the political spectrum. Had California done this, that’s somewhat expected, but for a state like Arkansas to do this, it represents that this is something that is a bipartisan concern.”
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Tim Casey

Tim has been a reporter and editor for newspapers, websites and magazines for more than 20 years, including 10 years covering health care business topics. He has a deep knowledge of the managed care industry and pharmacy benefit management. He also has experience covering medical conferences and clinical and legislative health care issues. In 2014, the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing selected Tim as one of 15 journalists to participate in a national symposium on the Affordable Care Act. Tim has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame and an M.B.A. from Georgetown University.