Source: http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=SB489%20SUB1%20ENR.htm&yr=2019&sesstype=RS&billtype=B&houseorig=S&i=489
Timestamp: 2020-08-14 13:19:53
Document Index: 201955545

Matched Legal Cases: ['§5', '§33', '§33', '§33', '§33', '§33', '§33', '§5', '§30', '§30', '§15', '§5', '§33', '§29', '§33', '§33', '§ 256', '§2', '§33', '§33', '§33', '§33', '§33', '§33', '§33', '§33', '§33', '§33', '§29', '§29', '§33', '§33', '§256', '§256', '§ 256', '§ 1396', '§ 1396', '§33', '§29']

SB 489 Text
Enrolled Version - Final Version Senate Bill 489 History
OTHER VERSIONS - Committee Substitute (1) | Introduced Version | | Email
Senate Bill 489
Senators Maroney, Takubo, and Tarr, original sponsors
[Passed February 26, 2019; in effect from passage]
AN ACT to amend and reenact §5-16-9 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §33-51-3, §33-51-4, §33-51-7, §33-51-8, and §33-51-9 of said code; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §33-51-10, all relating to the regulation of pharmacy benefit managers; defining terms; requiring pharmacy benefit managers to obtain a license from the Insurance Commissioner before doing business in the state; setting forth terms of licensure of pharmacy benefit managers; establishing fees; authorizing the Insurance Commissioner to promulgate rules for legislative approval; providing network adequacy standards; prohibiting a network to be comprised only of mail-order benefits; requiring the Insurance Commissioner to enforce the licensure provisions relating to pharmacy benefit managers; providing for the applicability of provisions to pharmacy benefit managers; clarifying that requirements do not apply to certain prescription drug plans; prohibiting certain practices by an auditing entity; providing exemptions; prohibiting different treatment of a federal 340B drug discount program; requiring the reporting of certain data relating to the payment of pharmacy claims; permitting the Public Employees Insurance Agency to cancel a contract if certain conditions are not met; providing disciplinary procedures; and providing civil penalties.
CHAPTER 5. GENERAL POWERS AND AUTHORITY OF THE GOVERNOR, SECRETARY OF STATE, AND ATTORNEY GENERAL; BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS; MISCELLANEOUS AGENCIES, COMMISSIONS, OFFICES, PROGRAMS, ETC.
§5-16-9. Authorization to execute contracts for group hospital and surgical insurance, group major medical insurance, group prescription drug insurance, group life and accidental death insurance, and other accidental death insurance; mandated benefits; limitations; awarding of contracts; reinsurance; certificates for covered employees; discontinuance of contracts.
(a) The director is hereby given exclusive authorization to execute such contract or contracts as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this article and to provide the plan or plans of group hospital and surgical insurance coverage, group major medical insurance coverage, group prescription drug insurance coverage, and group life and accidental death insurance coverage selected in accordance with the provisions of this article, such contract or contracts to be executed with one or more agencies, corporations, insurance companies, or service organizations licensed to sell group hospital and surgical insurance, group major medical insurance, group prescription drug insurance, and group life and accidental death insurance in this state.
(b) The group hospital or surgical insurance coverage and group major medical insurance coverage herein provided shall include coverages and benefits for x-ray and laboratory services in connection with mammogram and pap smears when performed for cancer screening or diagnostic services and annual checkups for prostate cancer in men age 50 and over. Such benefits shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(2) A pap smear, either conventional or liquid-based cytology, whichever is medically appropriate and consistent with the current guidelines from the United States Preventive Services Task Force or The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, for women age 18 and over;
(3) A test for the human papilloma virus (HPV) for women age 18 or over, when medically appropriate and consistent with the current guidelines from either the United States Preventive Services Task Force or the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for women age 18 and over;
(4) A checkup for prostate cancer annually for men age 50 or over; and
(5) Annual screening for kidney disease as determined to be medically necessary by a physician using any combination of blood pressure testing, urine albumin or urine protein testing, and serum creatinine testing as recommended by the National Kidney Foundation.
(A) Seven years of age or younger or is developmentally disabled and is either an individual for whom a successful result cannot be expected from dental care provided under local anesthesia because of a physical, intellectual, or other medically compromising condition of the individual and for whom a superior result can be expected from dental care provided under general anesthesia; or
(B) A child who is 12 years of age or younger with documented phobias, or with documented mental illness, and with dental needs of such magnitude that treatment should not be delayed or deferred and for whom lack of treatment can be expected to result in infection, loss of teeth or other increased oral or dental morbidity and for whom a successful result cannot be expected from dental care provided under local anesthesia because of such condition and for whom a superior result can be expected from dental care provided under general anesthesia.
(7) (A) A policy, plan, or contract that is issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2019, and that is subject to this section, shall provide coverage, through the age of 20, for amino acid-based formula for the treatment of severe protein-allergic conditions or impaired absorption of nutrients caused by disorders affecting the absorptive surface, function, length, and motility of the gastrointestinal tract. This includes the following conditions, if diagnosed as related to the disorder by a physician licensed to practice in this state pursuant to either §30-3-1 et seq. or §30-14-1 et seq. of this code:
(B) The coverage required by §15-16-9(b)(7)(A) of this code shall include medical foods for home use for which a physician has issued a prescription and has declared them to be medically necessary, regardless of methodology of delivery.
(c) The group life and accidental death insurance herein provided shall be in the amount of $10,000 for every employee. The amount of the group life and accidental death insurance to which an employee would otherwise be entitled shall be reduced to $5,000 upon such employee attaining age 65.
(e) The provisions of §5A-3-1 et seq. of this code, relating to the Division of Purchasing of the Department of Finance and Administration, shall not apply to any contracts for any insurance coverage or professional services authorized to be executed under the provisions of this article. Before entering into any contract for any insurance coverage, as authorized in this article, the director shall invite competent bids from all qualified and licensed insurance companies or carriers, who may wish to offer plans for the insurance coverage desired: Provided, That the director shall negotiate and contract directly with health care providers and other entities, organizations and vendors in order to secure competitive premiums, prices, and other financial advantages. The director shall deal directly with insurers or health care providers and other entities, organizations, and vendors in presenting specifications and receiving quotations for bid purposes. No commission or finder’s fee, or any combination thereof, shall be paid to any individual or agent; but this shall not preclude an underwriting insurance company or companies, at their own expense, from appointing a licensed resident agent, within this state, to service the companies’ contracts awarded under the provisions of this article. Commissions reasonably related to actual service rendered for the agent or agents may be paid by the underwriting company or companies: Provided, however, That in no event shall payment be made to any agent or agents when no actual services are rendered or performed. The director shall award the contract or contracts on a competitive basis. In awarding the contract or contracts the director shall take into account the experience of the offering agency, corporation, insurance company, or service organization in the group hospital and surgical insurance field, group major medical insurance field, group prescription drug field, and group life and accidental death insurance field, and its facilities for the handling of claims. In evaluating these factors, the director may employ the services of impartial, professional insurance analysts or actuaries, or both. Any contract executed by the director with a selected carrier shall be a contract to govern all eligible employees subject to the provisions of this article. Nothing contained in this article shall prohibit any insurance carrier from soliciting employees covered hereunder to purchase additional hospital and surgical, major medical, or life and accidental death insurance coverage.
(i) The director shall provide by contract or contracts entered into under the provisions of this article the cost for coverage of children’s immunization services from birth through age 16 years to provide immunization against the following illnesses: Diphtheria, polio, mumps, measles, rubella, tetanus, hepatitis-b, hemophilia influenzae-b, and whooping cough. Additional immunizations may be required by the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health for public health purposes. Any contract entered into to cover these services shall require that all costs associated with immunization, including the cost of the vaccine, if incurred by the health care provider, and all costs of vaccine administration be exempt from any deductible, per visit charge and/or copayment provisions which may be in force in these policies or contracts. This section does not require that other health care services provided at the time of immunization be exempt from any deductible and/or copayment provisions.
(j) The director shall include language in all contracts for pharmacy benefits management, as defined by §33-51-3 of this code, requiring the pharmacy benefit manager to report quarterly to the agency for all pharmacy claims the amount paid to the pharmacy provider per claim, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) The cost of drug reimbursement;
(2) Dispensing fees;
(3) Copayments; and
(4) The amount charged to the agency for each claim by the pharmacy benefit manager.
In the event there is a difference between these amounts for any claim, the pharmacy benefit manager shall report an itemization of all administrative fees, rebates, or processing charges associated with the claim. All data and information provided by the pharmacy benefit manager shall be kept secure, and notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, the agency shall maintain the confidentiality of the proprietary information and not share or disclose the proprietary information contained in the report or data collected with persons outside the agency. All data and information provided by the pharmacy benefit manager shall be considered proprietary and confidential and exempt from disclosure under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act pursuant to §29B-1-4(a)(1) of this code. Only those agency employees involved in collecting, securing, and analyzing the data for the purpose of preparing the report provided for herein shall have access to the proprietary data. The director shall, using aggregated, non-proprietary data only, report at least quarterly to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance on the implementation of this subsection and its impact on program expenditures, including any difference or spread between the amount paid by pharmacy benefit managers to the pharmacy providers and the amount charged to the agency for each claim by the pharmacy benefit manager.
(k) If the information required herein is not provided, the agency may terminate the contract with the pharmacy benefit manager and the Office of the Insurance Commissioner shall discipline the pharmacy benefit manager as provided in §33-51-8(e) of this code.
§33-51-3. Definitions.
“340B entity” means an entity participating in the federal 340B drug discount program, as described in 42 U.S.C. § 256b, including its pharmacy or pharmacies, or any pharmacy or pharmacies, contracted with the participating entity to dispense drugs purchased through such program.
“Affiliate” means a pharmacy, pharmacist, or pharmacy technician that directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with a pharmacy benefit manager.
“Auditing entity” means a person or company that performs a pharmacy audit, including a covered entity, pharmacy benefits manager, managed care organization, or third-party administrator.
“Business day” means any day of the week excluding Saturday, Sunday, and any legal holiday as set forth in §2-2-1 of this code.
“Claim level information” means data submitted by a pharmacy or required by a payer or claims processor to adjudicate a claim.
“Covered entity” means a contract holder or policy holder providing pharmacy benefits to a covered individual under a health insurance policy pursuant to a contract administered by a pharmacy benefits manager.
“Covered individual” means a member, participant, enrollee, or beneficiary of a covered entity who is provided health coverage by a covered entity, including a dependent or other person provided health coverage through the policy or contract of a covered individual.
“Extrapolation” means the practice of inferring a frequency of dollar amount of overpayments, underpayments, nonvalid claims, or other errors on any portion of claims submitted, based on the frequency of dollar amount of overpayments, underpayments, nonvalid claims, or other errors actually measured in a sample of claims.
“Health care provider” has the same meaning as defined in §33-41-2 of this code.
“Health insurance policy” means a policy, subscriber contract, certificate, or plan that provides prescription drug coverage. The term includes both comprehensive and limited benefit health insurance policies.
“Insurance commissioner” or “commissioner” has the same meaning as defined in §33-1-5 of this code.
“Network” means a pharmacy or group of pharmacies that agree to provide prescription services to covered individuals on behalf of a covered entity or group of covered entities in exchange for payment for its services by a pharmacy benefits manager or pharmacy services administration organization. The term includes a pharmacy that generally dispenses outpatient prescriptions to covered individuals or dispenses particular types of prescriptions, provides pharmacy services to particular types of covered individuals or dispenses prescriptions in particular health care settings, including networks of specialty, institutional or long-term care facilities.
“Nonproprietary drug” means a drug containing any quantity of any controlled substance or any drug which is required by any applicable federal or state law to be dispensed only by prescription.
“Pharmacist” means an individual licensed by the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy to engage in the practice of pharmacy.
“Pharmacy” means any place within this state where drugs are dispensed and pharmacist care is provided.
“Pharmacy audit” means an audit, conducted on-site by or on behalf of an auditing entity of any records of a pharmacy for prescription or nonproprietary drugs dispensed by a pharmacy to a covered individual.
“Pharmacy benefits management” means the performance of any of the following:
(1) The procurement of prescription drugs at a negotiated contracted rate for dispensation within the State of West Virginia to covered individuals;
(2) The administration or management of prescription drug benefits provided by a covered entity for the benefit of covered individuals;
(3) The administration of pharmacy benefits, including:
(A) Operating a mail-service pharmacy;
(B) Claims processing;
(C) Managing a retail pharmacy network;
(D) Paying claims to a pharmacy for prescription drugs dispensed to covered individuals via retail or mail-order pharmacy;
(E) Developing and managing a clinical formulary including utilization management and quality assurance programs;
(F) Rebate contracting administration; and
(G) Managing a patient compliance, therapeutic intervention, and generic substitution program.
“Pharmacy benefits manager” means a person, business, or other entity that performs pharmacy benefits management for covered entities;
“Pharmacy record” means any record stored electronically or as a hard copy by a pharmacy that relates to the provision of prescription or nonproprietary drugs or pharmacy services or other component of pharmacist care that is included in the practice of pharmacy.
“Pharmacy services administration organization” means any entity that contracts with a pharmacy to assist with third-party payer interactions and that may provide a variety of other administrative services, including contracting with pharmacy benefits managers on behalf of pharmacies and managing pharmacies’ claims payments from third-party payers.
“Third party” means any insurer, health benefit plan for employees which provides a pharmacy benefits plan, a participating public agency which provides a system of health insurance for public employees, their dependents and retirees, or any other insurer or organization that provides health coverage, benefits, or coverage of prescription drugs as part of workers’ compensation insurance in accordance with state or federal law. The term does not include an insurer that provides coverage under a policy of casualty or property insurance.
§33-51-4. Procedures for conducting pharmacy audits.
(a) An entity conducting a pharmacy audit under this article shall conform to the following rules:
(1) Except as otherwise provided by federal or state law, an auditing entity conducting a pharmacy audit may have access to a pharmacy’s previous audit report only if the report was prepared by that auditing entity.
(2) Information collected during a pharmacy audit is confidential by law, except that the auditing entity conducting the pharmacy audit may share the information with the pharmacy benefits manager and with the covered entity for which a pharmacy audit is being conducted and with any regulatory agencies and law-enforcement agencies as required by law.
(3) The auditing entity conducting a pharmacy audit may not compensate an employee or contractor with which an auditing entity contracts to conduct a pharmacy audit solely based on the amount claimed or the actual amount recouped by the pharmacy being audited.
(4) The auditing entity shall provide the pharmacy being audited with at least 14 calendar days’ prior written notice before conducting a pharmacy audit unless both parties agree otherwise. If a delay of the audit is requested by the pharmacy, the pharmacy shall provide notice to the pharmacy benefits manager within 72 hours of receiving notice of the audit.
(5) The auditing entity may not initiate or schedule a pharmacy audit without the express consent of the pharmacy during the first five business days of any month for any pharmacy that averages in excess of 600 prescriptions filled per week.
(6) The auditing entity shall accept paper or electronic signature logs that document the delivery of prescription or nonproprietary drugs and pharmacist services to a health plan beneficiary or the beneficiary’s caregiver or guardian.
(7) Prior to leaving the pharmacy after the on-site portion of the pharmacy audit, the auditing entity shall provide to the representative of the pharmacy a complete list of pharmacy records reviewed.
(8) A pharmacy audit that involves clinical judgment shall be conducted by, or in consultation with, a pharmacist.
(9) A pharmacy audit may not cover:
(A) A period of more than 24 months after the date a claim was submitted by the pharmacy to the pharmacy benefits manager or covered entity unless a longer period is required by law; or
(B) More than 250 prescriptions: Provided, That a refill does not constitute a separate prescription for the purposes of this subparagraph.
(10) The auditing entity may not use extrapolation to calculate penalties or amounts to be charged back or recouped unless otherwise required by federal requirements or federal plans.
(11) The auditing entity may not include dispensing fees in the calculation of overpayments unless a prescription is considered a misfill. As used in this subdivision, “misfill” means a prescription that was not dispensed, a prescription error, a prescription where the prescriber denied the authorization request, or a prescription where an extra dispensing fee was charged.
(12) The auditing entity conducting a pharmacy audit or person acting on behalf of the auditing entity may not seek any fee, charge-back, recoupment, or other adjustment for a dispensed product, or any portion of a dispensed product, unless one of the following has occurred:
(A) Fraud or other intentional and willful misrepresentation as evidenced by a review of the claims data, statements, physical review, or other investigative methods;
(B) Dispensing in excess of the benefit design, as established by the plan sponsor;
(C) Prescriptions not filled in accordance with the prescriber’s order; or
(D) Actual overpayment to the pharmacy.
(13) Any fee, charge-back, recoupment, or other adjustment is limited to the actual financial harm associated with the dispensed product, or portion of the dispensed product, or the actual underpayment or overpayment as set forth in the criteria in subdivision (12) of this subsection.
(14) A pharmacy may do any of the following when a pharmacy audit is performed:
(A) A pharmacy may use authentic and verifiable statements or records, including, but not limited to, medication administration records of a nursing home, assisted living facility, hospital, or health care provider with prescriptive authority, to validate the pharmacy record and delivery; and
(B) A pharmacy may use any valid prescription, including, but not limited to, medication administration records, facsimiles, electronic prescriptions, electronically stored images of prescriptions, electronically created annotations, or documented telephone calls from the prescribing health care provider or practitioner’s agent, to validate claims in connection with prescriptions or changes in prescriptions or refills of prescription or nonproprietary drugs. Documentation of an oral prescription order that has been verified by the prescribing health care provider shall meet the provisions of this subparagraph for the initial audit review.
(b) An auditing entity shall provide the pharmacy with a written report of the pharmacy audit and comply with the following requirements:
(1) A preliminary pharmacy audit report shall be delivered to the pharmacy or its corporate parent within 60 calendar days after the completion of the pharmacy audit. The preliminary report shall include contact information for the auditing entity that conducted the pharmacy audit and an appropriate and accessible point of contact, including telephone number, facsimile number, e-mail address, and auditing firm name and address so that audit results, procedures and any discrepancies can be reviewed. The preliminary pharmacy audit report shall include, but not be limited to, claim level information for any discrepancy found and total dollar amounts of claims subject to recovery.
(2) A pharmacy is allowed at least 30 calendar days following receipt of the preliminary audit report to respond to the findings of the preliminary report.
(3) A final pharmacy audit report shall be delivered to the pharmacy or its corporate parent no later than 90 calendar days after completion of the pharmacy audit. The final pharmacy audit report shall include any response provided to the auditing entity by the pharmacy or corporate parent and shall consider and address such responses.
(4) The final audit report may be delivered electronically.
(5) A pharmacy may not be subject to a charge-back or recoupment for a clerical or recordkeeping error in a required document or record, including a typographical or computer error, unless the error resulted in overpayment to the pharmacy.
(6) An auditing entity conducting a pharmacy audit or person acting on behalf of the entity may not charge-back, recoup, or collect penalties from a pharmacy until the time to file an appeal of a final pharmacy audit report has passed or the appeals process has been exhausted, whichever is later.
(7) If an identified discrepancy in a pharmacy audit exceeds $25,000, future payments to the pharmacy in excess of that amount may be withheld pending adjudication of an appeal.
(8) No interest accrues for any party during the audit period, beginning with the notice of the pharmacy audit and ending with the conclusion of the appeals process.
(9) Except for Medicare claims, approval of drug, prescriber, or patient eligibility upon adjudication of a claim may not be reversed unless the pharmacy or pharmacist obtained adjudication by fraud or misrepresentation of claims elements.
§33-51-7. Pharmacy benefits manager and auditing entity registration.
(a) Prior to conducting business in the State of West Virginia, except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, an auditing entity shall register with the Insurance Commissioner. The commissioner shall make an application form available on its publicly accessible Internet website that includes a request for the following information:
(1) The identity, address, and telephone number of the applicant;
(2) The name, business address, and telephone number of the contact person for the applicant; and
(3) When applicable, the federal employer identification number for the applicant.
(b) Term and fee. —
(1) The term of registration shall be two years from the date of issuance.
(2) The Insurance Commissioner shall determine the amount of the initial application fee and the renewal application fee for the registration. Such fee shall be submitted by the applicant with an application for registration. An initial application fee is nonrefundable. A renewal application fee shall be returned if the renewal of the registration is not granted.
(3) The amount of the initial application fees and renewal application fees must be sufficient to fund the Insurance Commissioner's duties in relation to its responsibilities under this article, but a single fee may not exceed $1,000.
(c) Registration. —
(1) The Insurance Commissioner shall issue a registration, as appropriate, to an applicant when the Insurance Commissioner determines that the applicant has submitted a completed application and paid the required registration fee.
(2) The registration may be in paper or electronic form, is nontransferable, and shall prominently list the expiration date of the registration.
(d) Duplicate registration. —
(1) A licensed insurer or other entity licensed by the commissioner pursuant to this chapter shall comply with the standards and procedures of this article but is not required to separately register as an auditing entity.
(2) A pharmacy benefits manager that is registered as a third-party administrator pursuant to §33-46-1 et seq. of this code shall comply with the standards and procedures of this article but is not required to register separately as an auditing entity.
§33-51-8. Licensure of pharmacy benefit managers.
(a) A person or organization may not establish or operate as a pharmacy benefits manager in the State of West Virginia without first obtaining a license from the Insurance Commissioner pursuant to this section: Provided, That a pharmacy benefit manager registered pursuant to §33-5-7 of this code may continue to do business in the state until the Insurance Commissioner has completed the legislative rule as set forth in §33-55-10 of this code: Provided, however, That additionally the pharmacy benefit manager shall submit an application within six months of completion of the final rule. The Insurance Commissioner shall make an application form available on its publicly accessible Internet website that includes a request for the following information:
(2) The name, business address, and telephone number of the contact person for the applicant;
(3) When applicable, the federal employer identification number for the applicant; and
(4) Any other information the Insurance Commissioner considers necessary and appropriate to establish the qualifications to receive a license as a pharmacy benefit manager to complete the licensure process, as set forth by legislative rule promulgated by the Insurance Commissioner pursuant to §33-51-9(f) of this code.
(1) The term of licensure shall be two years from the date of issuance.
(2) The Insurance Commissioner shall determine the amount of the initial application fee and the renewal application fee for the registration. The fee shall be submitted by the applicant with an application for registration. An initial application fee is nonrefundable. A renewal application fee shall be returned if the renewal of the registration is not granted.
(3) The amount of the initial application fees and renewal application fees must be sufficient to fund the Insurance Commissioner's duties in relation to his/her responsibilities under this section, but a single fee may not exceed $10,000.
(4) Each application for a license, and subsequent renewal for a license, shall be accompanied by evidence of financial responsibility in an amount of $1 million.
(c) Licensure. —
(1) The Insurance Commissioner shall propose legislative rules, in accordance with §33-51-9(f) of this code, establishing the licensing, fees, application, financial standards, and reporting requirements of pharmacy benefit managers.
(2) Upon receipt of a completed application, evidence of financial responsibility, and fee, the Insurance Commissioner shall make a review of each applicant and shall issue a license if the applicant is qualified in accordance with the provisions of this section and the rules promulgated by the Insurance Commissioner pursuant to this section. The commissioner may require additional information or submissions from an applicant and may obtain any documents or information reasonably necessary to verify the information contained in the application.
(3) The license may be in paper or electronic form, is nontransferable, and shall prominently list the expiration date of the license.
(d) Network adequacy. —
(1) A pharmacy benefit manager’s network shall not be comprised only of mail-order benefits but must have a mix of mail-order benefits and physical stores in this state.
(2) A pharmacy benefit manager shall provide a pharmacy benefit manager’s network report describing the pharmacy benefit manager’s network and the mix of mail-order to physical stores in this state in a time and manner required by rule issued by the Insurance Commissioner pursuant to this section.
(3) Failure to provide a timely report may result in the suspension or revocation of a pharmacy benefit manager’s license by the Insurance Commissioner.
(e) Enforcement. —
(1) The Insurance Commissioner shall enforce this section and may examine or audit the books and records of a pharmacy benefit manager providing pharmacy benefits management to determine if the pharmacy benefit manager is in compliance with this section: Provided, That any information or data acquired during the examination or audit is considered proprietary and confidential and exempt from disclosure under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act pursuant to §29B-1-4(a)(1) of this code.
(2) The Insurance Commissioner may propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code regulating pharmacy benefit managers in a manner consistent with this chapter. Rules adopted pursuant to this section shall set forth penalties or fines, including, without limitation, monetary fines, suspension of licensure, and revocation of licensure for violations of this chapter and the rules adopted pursuant to this section.
(f) Applicability. —
(1) This section is applicable to any contract or health benefit plan issued, renewed, recredentialed, amended, or extended on or after July 1, 2019.
(2) The requirements of this section, and any rules promulgated by the Insurance Commissioner pursuant to §33-51-9(f) of this code, do not apply to the coverage of prescription drugs under a plan that is subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 or any information relating to such coverage.
§33-51-9. Regulation of pharmacy benefit managers.
(a) A pharmacy, a pharmacist, and a pharmacy technician shall have the right to provide a covered individual with information related to lower cost alternatives and cost share for the covered individual to assist health care consumers in making informed decisions. Neither a pharmacy, a pharmacist, nor a pharmacy technician may be penalized by a pharmacy benefit manager for discussing information in this section or for selling a lower cost alternative to a covered individual, if one is available, without using a health insurance policy.
(b) A pharmacy benefit manager may not collect from a pharmacy, a pharmacist, or a pharmacy technician a cost share charged to a covered individual that exceeds the total submitted charges by the pharmacy or pharmacist to the pharmacy benefit manager.
(c) A pharmacy benefit manager may only directly or indirectly charge or hold a pharmacy, a pharmacist, or a pharmacy technician responsible for a fee related to the adjudication of a claim if:
(1) The total amount of the fee is identified, reported, and specifically explained for each line item on the remittance advice of the adjudicated claim; or
(2) The total amount of the fee is apparent at the point of sale and not adjusted between the point of sale and the issuance of the remittance advice.
(d) A pharmacy benefit manager, or any other third party, that reimburses a 340B entity for drugs that are subject to an agreement under 42 U.S.C. §256b shall not reimburse the 340B entity for pharmacy-dispensed drugs at a rate lower than that paid for the same drug to pharmacies similar in prescription volume that are not 340B entities, and shall not assess any fee, charge-back, or other adjustment upon the 340B entity on the basis that the 340B entity participates in the program set forth in 42 U.S.C. §256b.
(e) With respect to a patient eligible to receive drugs subject to an agreement under 42 U.S.C. § 256b, a pharmacy benefit manager, or any other third party that makes payment for such drugs, shall not discriminate against a 340B entity in a manner that prevents or interferes with the patient’s choice to receive such drugs from the 340B entity: Provided, That for purposes of this section, “third party” does not include the state Medicaid program when Medicaid is providing reimbursement for covered outpatient drugs, as that term is defined in 42 U.S.C. § 1396r-8(k), on a fee-for-service basis: Provided, however, That “third party” does include a Medicaid-managed care organization as described in 42 U.S.C. § 1396b(m).
(f) This section does not apply with respect to claims under an employee benefit plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 or, except for paragraph (d), to Medicare Part D.
§33-51-10. Commissioner authorized to propose rules.
The Insurance Commissioner may propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code that are necessary to effectuate the provisions of this article.