American Pharmacies has a Long History of Engaging in Courtrooms and Government Agencies Across the County to Protect the Interests of Independent Pharmacy Owners.
Led by General Counsel Miguel Rodriguez, APRx has filed lawsuits against the federal government, CVS Caremark and Texas Health and Human Services Commission to assert the rights of independents, as well as by filing amicus briefs in state and federal PBM lawsuits.
Rodriguez has worked with state insurance departments in Texas, New Mexico and Michigan to support the enforcement of PBM reforms. He has participated as a legal speaker at events and webinars hosted by the National Community Pharmacists Association, Pharmacists United for Truth and Transparency, and other groups.
Rodriguez has worked with state insurance departments in Texas, New Mexico and Michigan to support the enforcement of PBM reforms. He has participated as a legal speaker at events and webinars hosted by the National Community Pharmacists Association, Pharmacists United for Truth and Transparency, and other groups.
History of Legal Advocacy
In September 2010, American Pharmacies filed a landmark federal class-action RICO lawsuit against CVS Caremark alleging illegal anticompetitive actions. Drawing nationwide attention and support, the case proceeded resolutely for five years toward an open-court trial but ultimately ended in 2016 when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear our appeal to overturn lower-court rulings that the plaintiff pharmacies must bring their claims against CVS Caremark only in a private arbitration.
APRx also filed suit against the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in July 2011 over restricted preferred networks in Medicare Part D plans. Those networks exclude independent pharmacies from participation in violation of the Medicare Act’s Any Willing Pharmacy requirement. More recently, American Pharmacies joined the American Pharmacists Association, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, NCPA and the Oklahoma Pharmacists Association in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a 10th Circuit ruling that last year invalidated part of an Oklahoma PBM reform law.
APRx also filed suit against the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in July 2011 over restricted preferred networks in Medicare Part D plans. Those networks exclude independent pharmacies from participation in violation of the Medicare Act’s Any Willing Pharmacy requirement. More recently, American Pharmacies joined the American Pharmacists Association, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, NCPA and the Oklahoma Pharmacists Association in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a 10th Circuit ruling that last year invalidated part of an Oklahoma PBM reform law.
The amicus brief supports Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready in a suit seeking to reverse the Tenth Circuit’s August 2023 ruling in favor of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, (PCMA, the PBMs’ powerful trade lobby). APRx had joined the same groups in November 2022 to file a joint brief urging the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a lower federal court’s ruling that largely upheld the Oklahoma law.
In a huge win for retail pharmacy, the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in November 2021 rejected PCMA’s ERISA challenge in PCMA v. Wehbi, thwarting PCMA’s effort to invalidate North Dakota’s PBM-reform laws. In July of that year, In July of 2021, American Pharmacies filed an amicus brief (joined by the Alliance for Transparent and Affordable Prescriptions and the Community Oncologist Alliance) in PCMA v Wehbi, to help the Eighth Circuit understand the need for state laws that regulate PBM practices.
