Cite as: 538 U. S. 644 (2003)
Opinion of Breyer, J.
with Part V's conclusion. The District Court's entry of a preliminary injunction rested upon a determination that federal Medicaid law pre-empted the Maine Rx Program as long as Maine's prior authorization program posed some obstacle, " '[n]o matter how modest,' " to realizing federal Medicaid goals. Ante, at 659 (majority opinion) (emphasis added). Like the plurality, I believe that the italicized phrase under-states the strength of the showing that the law required petitioner to make. Ante, at 667.
To prevail, petitioner ultimately must demonstrate that Maine's program would "seriously compromise important federal interests." Arkansas Elec. Cooperative Corp. v. Arkansas Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 461 U. S. 375, 389 (1983). Cf. Rosado v. Wyman, 397 U. S. 397, 422-423 (1970). Petitioner consequently cannot obtain a preliminary injunction simply by showing minimal or quite "modest" harm— even though Maine offered no evidence of countervailing Medicaid-related benefit, post, at 687-688 (O'Connor, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part). The relevant statutory language, after all, expressly permits prior authorization programs, 42 U. S. C. § 1396r-8(d)(1), and Congress may well have believed that such programs, in general, help Medicaid by generating savings. See ante, at 651-653, and n. 7 (majority opinion). That being so, Congress would not have intended to forbid prior authorization programs virtually per se—i. e., on the showing of slight harm—even if no specific Medicaid-related benefit is apparent in a particular case.
I recognize that petitioner presented evidence to the District Court that could have justified a stronger conclusion. E. g., App. 57, 103-104. Cf. Brief for Legal Services Organizations Representing Medicaid Beneficiaries as Amici Curiae 14. Yet the District Court's preliminary injunction nonetheless rests upon premises that subsequent developments have made clear are unrealistic. For one thing, despite Maine's initial failure to argue the matter, Maine's program may further certain Medicaid-related objectives, at
671
Page: Index Previous 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007