US Pharm. 2009;34(5):8. 

Alexandria, VA -- The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) filed a motion seeking a stay in federal district court in Massachusetts after the release of the final judgment in the First DataBank and Medi-Span lawsuit. The motion asks the district court to stop implementation of the approved average wholesale price (AWP) reductions that would cut pharmacy reimbursement dramatically. In March, a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled to reduce the AWPs used to set pharmacy reimbursement rates to 120% of wholesale acquisition cost for 1,442 designated drug products, effective September 26, 2009. NACDS and FMI estimate that the reductions will cut Medicaid reimbursements by about $68 million each year. Pharmacies that are unable to renegotiate their private-sector reimbursement contracts will face a net 4% reduction in AWP-based reimbursements.