Sixth Circuit Holds ERISA Preempts Tennessee’s Pharmacy Anti-Steering Laws

What Happened: In McKee Foods Corp. v. BFP Inc., decided April 7, 2026, the Sixth Circuit affirmed that ERISA preempts two Tennessee laws intended to prevent pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from steering patients to affiliated pharmacies. The court reasoned that the laws constituted impermissible interference with ERISA plan design and administration, a conclusion it reached by distinguishing the Tennessee statutes from the state laws the US Supreme Court found permissible in Rutledge v. PCMA... By: Mintz - Health Care Viewpoints