Oklahoma asks 10th Circuit to revive state law expanding access to discounted drugs

Oklahoma appealed to the 10th Circuit on Thursday to revive its 340B Nondiscrimination Act, a law blocked by a district judge that would expand where patients can pick up discounted drugs under the federal 340B program. State attorney Garry Gaskins argued Congress's silence on delivery methods should not be read as a prohibition on states expanding them.

AbbVie, AstraZeneca and Novartis sued, arguing the law is preempted by federal law and amounts to an unconstitutional taking by forcing manufacturers to discount more drugs in more places. Oklahoma countered that three-quarters of its rural hospitals depend on 340B revenue to stay open, and that patients served by providers like the University of Oklahoma Medical Center are scattered as far as Puerto Rico.

Judges pressed both sides on whether the law actually burdens manufacturers' production capacity or simply changes who profits from existing discounted sales. The panel, which included appointees of Reagan, Obama and George H.W. Bush, did not indicate when it would rule.

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