Drug firms want to stop preferred lists based on price

WASHINGTON -- Drug companies asked a federal judge on Wednesday to stop states from limiting low-income patients' access to more expensive medicines.

A coalition of drug makers sued Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson for approving Michigan's 6-month-old "preferred drug list" program for Medicaid recipients.

Medications can only get on the list if its manufacturer agrees to offer the drug at a steep discount. If doctors want to prescribe a drug not included on the list, they must get prior approval from the state.

"State programs that restrict access, we feel, violate federal law and can result in harmful consequences to the country's most vulnerable patients," said Jan Faiks, a lawyer for the Pharmaceutical Re- search and Manufacturers of America or PhRMA.

PhRMA wants U.S. District Court Judge John Bates to stop Michigan's program and similar initiatives in other states.

PhRMA said it isn't opposed to preferred drug lists, but decisions about what is on the list must be based on medical reasons.