⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The First Circuit hears American Hospital Association versus AbbVie. The 340B program requires drugmakers to discount outpatient drugs for eligible safety-net providers. In 2025, the Health Resources and Services Administration approved a pilot allowing selected manufacturers to collect more up front and refund the difference later, partly to prevent duplicate discounts. Hospital groups sued federal health officials, saying the change violated the Administrative Procedure Act and imposed new costs and paperwork. The district court blocked the pilot. AbbVie and other manufacturers sought to join the defense, but the court ruled that the government adequately represented them. The court later vacated the pilot and returned it to the agency, ending the underlying case. The agency has since announced a revised pilot. The manufacturers now appeal the intervention ruling; the hospitals say the appeal is moot because the old case no longer exists.

American Hospital Association v. AbbVie Inc. (No. 25-2237) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, argued September 15, 2026.