Drug Companies And North Dakota Argue Over State Law Meant to Promote Healthcare Access

(Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – A federal district court judge is skeptical that low-income North Dakotans actually benefit from a state law intended to safeguard medication discounts.

The 2025 law makes it a class B misdemeanor for drug manufacturers to adopt policies that “deny, restrict, prohibit, or otherwise interfere” with pharmacies’ ability to obtain and dispense discounted prescriptions on behalf of hospitals participating in a federal program known as 340B.

Drug manufacturers sued the state over the law last year, claiming it has allowed hospitals and pharmacies to exploit them for millions of dollars. The companies want the federal court to strike down the statute.

U.S. District Court Judge Dan Traynor on Thursday held a hearing on motions for summary judgment in the suit by the plaintiffs and defense. Attorneys for the pharmaceutical companies and North Dakota both want Traynor to decide the case in their favor without a trial.