AHA 340B Advocacy Alliance Bulletin

Memo provides details of new CVS 340B contract pharmacy amendment — please share the memo with your legal team

Wanted to share a new memorandum prepared for the AHA regarding recent amendments CVS has issued to its 340B contract pharmacy services agreements. The memo was prepared by Frier Levitt LLC — a law firm that recently filed lawsuits on behalf of three hospital systems against CVS Health. The memo outlines significant contract changes that could affect reimbursement, audit rights and dispute resolution processes for 340B covered entities.

Given the potential implications for your organization, we strongly recommend that you share this memo with your legal counsel and carefully evaluate any proposed amendments.

The AHA will continue to keep members informed as this situation evolves. If you have any questions, please contact Chad Golder, AHA general counsel, at cgolder@aha.org.

Full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit to rehear challenges to state contract pharmacy laws

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit agreed to rehear challenges to 340B contract pharmacy laws from West Virginia and Maryland. In April, a three-judge panel from that court found those laws to be unconstitutional. At the time of those decisions, AHA General Counsel Chad Golder stated, they “scream out for rehearing by the full Fourth Circuit. As the dissenting judge correctly points out, the majority rests its decision on arguments that the parties never made. It invents new theories of preemption that lack any basis in the law. It conflicts with the decisions of courts across the country. And it is wrong. We look forward to it being overturned.”

The full court of appeals will now reconsider those decisions.

Two federal courts of appeals have upheld similar laws in Louisiana and Arkansas.

The AHA filed amicus briefs in support of the West Virginia and Maryland laws in both the district court and the 4th Circuit