Hospitals Still
Maryland drugmakers, hospitals still await ruling on pharmacy pay rules
Drugmakers, hospitals and pharmacies still don't know how Maryland's pharmacy reimbursement rules will work: The full Fourth Circuit agreed to rehear the case en banc, delaying a final appellate answer.
The Fourth Circuit has granted rehearing en banc in the Maryland case, so the dispute is not over. For now, the state’s pharmacy rules stay under challenge, and drugmakers, hospitals and pharmacies are still waiting for a final appellate answer.
- The Fourth Circuit will rehear the Maryland case en banc.
- Drugmakers and industry groups are challenging state pharmacy-payment rules.
- Hospitals and pharmacy groups are also watching the outcome.
- No final appellate ruling is in place yet.
- Drugmakers in Maryland are still waiting for a final answer on the rules that govern how medicines are handled and reimbursed
Drugmakers in Maryland are still waiting for a final answer on the rules that govern how medicines are handled and reimbursed. On May 28, 2026, the Fourth Circuit agreed to rehear the case en banc, meaning the full court will take another look instead of leaving the matter to the original panel.
The challenge includes AbbVie, Allergan, Durata Therapeutics, AbbVie Products, Aptalis Pharma US, Pharmacyclics, Allergan Sales, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals. They are facing Maryland officials led by Attorney General Anthony G. Brown and members of the Maryland Board of Pharmacy.
Why the extra review matters
For pharmacies, hospitals and drugmakers, the practical effect is uncertainty. No final appellate ruling is in place yet, so the state rules at the center of the lawsuit remain under challenge.
The case has also drawn support from health-care groups, including the American Hospital Association, the Maryland Hospital Association, the Mid-Atlantic Association of Community Health Centers, 340B Health and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. That kind of lineup shows the dispute reaches beyond one company’s balance sheet and into the way drugs move through the health system.