PRINTER'S NO. 426
No. 362 Session of 2003
INTRODUCED BY YUDICHAK, GRUCELA, SAINATO, YOUNGBLOOD, BELARDI,
CAPPELLI, CREIGHTON, DeWEESE, FREEMAN, MANN, MELIO, PALLONE,
SOLOBAY, STABACK, TIGUE, WANSACZ, BISHOP, CAWLEY, CRUZ,
D. EVANS, JAMES, McCALL, MYERS, PISTELLA, TANGRETTI, THOMAS
AND WALKO, FEBRUARY 24, 2003
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON AGING AND OLDER ADULT SERVICES,
FEBRUARY 24, 2003
AN ACT
1 Providing for pharmaceutical discount card minimum standards and
2 for a report by the State Board of Pharmacy.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby enacts as follows:
5 Section 1. Short title.
6 This act shall be known and may be cited as the
7 Pharmaceutical Discount Card Minimum Standards Act.
8 Section 2. Definitions.
9 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
10 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
11 context clearly indicates otherwise:
12 "Average wholesale price." The cost of a dispensed drug
13 based upon the price published in a national drug pricing system
14 in current use by the Department of Aging as the average
15 wholesale cost of a prescription drug in the most common package
16 size.
1 "Prescription drug." Any human drug required by Federal law,
2 the act of April 14, 1972 (P.L.233, No.64), known as The
3 Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act, or
4 regulations promulgated under either, to be dispensed only by a
5 prescription, including finished dosage forms and active
6 ingredients subject to section 503(b) of the Federal Food, Drug,
7 and Cosmetic Act (52 Stat. 1040, 21 U.S.C. § 353(b)).
8 "Wholesale distributor." A person who engages in the
9 wholesale distribution of prescription drugs, including, but not
10 limited to, manufacturers, repackers, own-label distributors,
11 private-label distributors or jobbers, warehouses, including
12 manufacturers' and distributors' warehouses, chain drug
13 warehouses and wholesale drug warehouses, independent wholesale
14 drug traders and retail pharmacies that conduct wholesale
15 distributions.
16 Section 3. Discount card minimum standards.
17 A wholesale distributor that offers a pharmaceutical discount
18 card program to a resident of this Commonwealth shall be
19 required to meet the following minimum standards:
20 (1) The dispensing fee paid to the pharmacies shall be
21 no less than $4 for each prescription filled as part of the
22 discount card program.
23 (2) A pharmacy that fills a prescription under a
24 discount card program shall be reimbursed within 30 days
25 after the sale to a customer using the wholesale
26 distributor's discount card. A wholesale distributor who
27 fails to reimburse the pharmacies within this 30-day period
28 shall be liable for a civil penalty in the amount of 6% of
29 the reimbursement required to be paid.
30 (3) A wholesale distributor must provide the same
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1 discount price to all consumers enrolled under the discount
2 card program.
3 (4) At a minimum, the wholesale distributor must offer
4 the prescription drug to the pharmacies at 12% below the
5 average wholesale price.
6 Section 4. Disclosure of information.
7 Each wholesale distributor that offers a pharmaceutical
8 discount card program shall be required to disclose the
9 following information for each prescription drug covered by the
10 discount card program to the State Board of Pharmacy no later
11 than 30 days after the last day of each quarter:
12 (1) The name and address of the manufacturer or company
13 name that sold each prescription drug to the wholesale
14 distributor.
15 (2) The average wholesale price of all prescription
16 drugs covered by the wholesale distributor's discount card.
17 (3) The regular purchase price paid by the wholesaler
18 for each prescription drug.
19 (4) The number of people that participated in the
20 wholesale distributor's discount card program.
21 Section 5. Annual report.
22 (a) Wholesale distributor report.--Each wholesale
23 distributor that offers a pharmaceutical discount card program
24 must submit an annual report to the State Board of Pharmacy that
25 includes, but is not limited to, the following information:
26 (1) The number of consumers participating in the
27 discount card program for the year.
28 (2) The number of prescriptions paid for in part or full
29 in the discount card program.
30 (3) The consumer price paid for each of the prescription
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1 drugs covered by the discount card program.
2 (4) The wholesale and market price paid for each of the
3 prescription drugs covered by the discount card program.
4 (5) The average wholesale price paid for each of the
5 prescription drugs covered by the discount card program.
6 (6) Geographic information by county and region
7 regarding utilization of the prescription drugs covered by
8 the discount card program.
9 (b) State Board of Pharmacy.--The State Board of Pharmacy
10 shall annually compile and analyze the data received in a report
11 which shall be submitted to the General Assembly no later than
12 December 15 of each year.
13 Section 6. Effective date.
14 This act shall take effect January 1, 2004, or immediately,
15 whichever is later.
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