Prohibits pharmacy benefit managers from penalizing pharmacies for providing customers certain information relating to the costs of prescription medications and services.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9040
IN SENATE
April 11, 2024
___________
Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to prohibiting phar-
macy benefit managers from penalizing pharmacies for providing custom-
ers certain information relating to the costs of prescription medica-
tions
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 280-a of the public health law,
2 as amended by chapter 128 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 5. Contract provisions. No pharmacy benefit manager shall, with
5 respect to contracts between such pharmacy benefit manager and a pharma-
6 cy or, alternatively, such pharmacy benefit manager and a pharmacy's
7 contracting agent, such as a pharmacy services administrative organiza-
8 tion:
9 (a) prohibit or penalize a pharmacist or pharmacy from disclosing to
10 an individual purchasing a prescription medication or service informa-
11 tion regarding:
12 (i) the cost of the prescription medication or service to the individ-
13 ual, or the cost of the prescription medication or service to the phar-
14 macy and the pharmacy's reimbursement for that prescription medication
15 or service; or
16 (ii) the availability of any therapeutically equivalent alternative
17 medications or alternative methods of purchasing the prescription medi-
18 cation, including but not limited to, paying a cash price; or
19 (b) charge or collect from an individual a copayment that exceeds the
20 total submitted charges by the pharmacy for which the pharmacy is paid.
21 If an individual pays a copayment, the pharmacy shall retain the adjudi-
22 cated costs and the pharmacy benefit manager shall not redact or recoup
23 the adjudicated cost.
24 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14486-03-4
