Legal experts say federal judges are significantly aligned after a first-of-its-kind appellate ruling backing drugmakers' policies on the government's 340B drug discount program, but there's less consensus on whether other appeals courts will follow suit.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit was the first appeals court to weigh in on a dispute over the program that requires manufacturers to deliver discounted drugs to certain hospitals that serve low-income patients. The panel sided with manufacturers who argued an Obamacare amendment doesn't require they supply lower-priced medications to an unlimited number of contract pharmacies.