Arkansas
US Supreme Court Declines to Hear Challenge to Arkansas' Regulation of 340B Program
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to Arkansas’ 340B Drug Pricing Nondiscrimination Act, leaving in place a March 12 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit that upheld the state law.
The Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) had sought to overturn that decision, stating federal law preempted Arkansas’ legislation.
The Supreme Court’s denial marks the end of a lengthy legal battle over the act. The law, passed in 2021 as Act 1103, prevents pharmaceutical manufacturers from restricting health care providers’ ability to use local pharmacies for distributing federal 340B-discounted medications. Attorney General Tim Griffin said in a news release following the Supreme Court’s decision that the law “fills a gap in federal law that manufacturers previously exploited to deny equal drug access to rural patients.”
“This is a big win for Arkansas’s drug access law,” Griffin said in the release. “With the United States Supreme Court refusing this appeal, the Eighth Circuit’s ruling that Act 1103 is not preempted stands.”
The case traces back to 2020, when several pharmaceutical manufacturers began limiting health care providers’ ability to work with local pharmacies to distribute 340B drugs — a move that particularly threatened rural access to affordable medications. The Arkansas General Assembly responded by passing Act 1103, leading to PhRMA’s legal challenge.
“Today’s win means that manufacturers must continue to provide equal access to patients across Arkansas,” Griffin said in the release.
Griffin credited Solicitor General Nicholas Bronni, Senior Assistant Solicitor General Asher Steinberg and the solicitor general team for their work on the case, which has implications beyond Arkansas as other states consider similar legislation to protect the ability to use contract pharmacies in the 340B program.
Arkansas
OPINION | WALLY HALL: Arkansas will need more than Robinson’s coerced contribution | Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Wally Hall
Wally Hall is assistant managing sports editor for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. A graduate of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock after an honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force, he is a member and past president of the Football Writers Association of America, member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, past president and current executive committee and board member of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, and voter for the Heisman Trophy. He has been awarded Arkansas Sportswriter of the Year 10 times and has been inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and Arkansas Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame.
Will Garrett Nussmeier’s size hold him back in the NFL?
LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier will look to impress scouts at the NFL Combine despite size concerns.
Move over, Anthony Richardson. There’s a new quarterback athletic marvel at the NFL scouting combine.
On Saturday in Indianapolis, Arkansas’ Taylen Green broke Richardson’s top marks at the position since 2003 for both the vertical leap and broad jump. Green’s 43½-inch vertical topped Richardson’s previous high by three inches, while his 11-2 broad jump beat the Indianapolis Colts signal-caller’s measurement by five inches.
Then, Green reeled off a 4.36-second 40-yard dash time. That stood as the second-best time for any quarterback since 2003, trailing only Reggie McNeal in 2006 (4.35 seconds). Richardson, for comparison, logged a 4.43-second mark in 2023.
Green didn’t even bother with a second attempt after his initial time.
The testing profile created quite the stir around the 6-6, 227-pound passer, who had widely projected as a developmental option for teams on Day 3.
NFL Network’s Charles Davis said Green told him that no teams had approached him about working out as a receiver, adding that he would not be interested in a position switch.
Green started for the Razorbacks for the last two seasons after playing the first three years of his career at Boise State. Known for his running ability and ample arm strength, Green threw for 2,714 yards and 19 touchdowns last year while adding 777 yards and eight scores on the ground.
It was a banner day for Arkansas, as running back Mike Washington Jr. also stood out among his peers with a group-leading 4.33-second 40-yard dash as well as strong marks in the vertical leap (39 inches) and broad jump (10-8).
Rex Nelson
Rex Nelson has been senior editor and columnist at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette since 2017, and he has a biweekly podcast called “Southern Fried.”
After graduating from Ouachita Baptist University in 1981, he was a sportswriter for the Arkansas Democrat for a year before becoming editor of Arkadelphia’s Daily Siftings Herald. He was the youngest editor of a daily in Arkansas at age 23. Rex was then news and sports director at KVRC-KDEL from 1983-1985.
He returned to the Democrat as assistant sports editor in 1985. From 1986-1989, he was its Washington correspondent. He left to be Jackson T. Stephens’ consultant.
Rex became the Democrat-Gazette’s first political editor in 1992, but left in 1996 to join then-Gov. Mike Huckabee’s office. He also served from 2005-09 in the administration of President George W. Bush.
From 2009-2018, he worked stints at the Communications Group, Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities, and Simmons First National Corp.
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