PRINTER'S NO. 722
No. 621 Session of 2003
INTRODUCED BY PALLONE, BEBKO-JONES, BELARDI, BROWNE, CAPPELLI,
CAWLEY, CIVERA, COSTA, COY, DALEY, DeLUCA, DeWEESE, EACHUS,
FAIRCHILD, FLICK, FRANKEL, FREEMAN, GEORGE, GOODMAN, GORDNER,
GRUCELA, HALUSKA, HARHAI, HENNESSEY, HERMAN, HORSEY, JOSEPHS,
KOTIK, LAUGHLIN, LEACH, LEDERER, LESCOVITZ, MARKOSEK,
McGEEHAN, MELIO, MUNDY, MYERS, PISTELLA, PRESTON, REICHLEY,
SAINATO, SCHRODER, SHANER, SOLOBAY, STABACK, SURRA,
TANGRETTI, E. Z. TAYLOR, THOMAS, TIGUE, TRAVAGLIO, WALKO,
WANSACZ, WASHINGTON, WOJNAROSKI, WRIGHT, YEWCIC, YOUNGBLOOD
AND YUDICHAK, MARCH 3, 2003
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON AGING AND OLDER ADULT SERVICES,
MARCH 3, 2003
AN ACT
1 Providing for consumer guides to pharmaceutical assistance
2 programs and for duties of the Department of Aging.
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 Consumer
7 Guides to Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs 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 "Department." The Department of Aging of the Commonwealth.
13 Section 3. Consumer Internet guide to pharmaceutical assistance
1 programs.
2 The department shall create, in a timely manner, a consumer
3 Internet guide to pharmaceutical assistance programs on its
4 publicly accessible World Wide Web site. The consumer Internet
5 guide shall include the following information:
6 (1) The names of various pharmaceutical assistance
7 programs.
8 (2) Contact information, including telephone numbers and
9 electronic mail addresses for each program.
10 (3) A list of the pharmaceutical products covered by
11 each program.
12 (4) A general description of each program.
13 (5) Each program's eligibility requirements.
14 (6) Any other relevant information regarding the
15 programs.
16 Section 4. Consumer guide to pharmaceutical assistance programs
17 brochure.
18 (a) General rule.--The department shall, in conjunction with
19 the Department of Health, the Department of Public Welfare and
20 the State Board of Pharmacy, produce a consumer guide for
21 pharmaceutical assistance brochure.
22 (b) Information source.--The department shall use the
23 information under section 3 in developing this brochure.
24 (c) Other publications.--Nothing in this section shall
25 preclude the department, the Department of Health, the
26 Department of Public Welfare or the State Board of Pharmacy from
27 including this same information in any of the brochures that
28 those agencies currently publish or release.
29 (d) Verification.--The department shall send final proofs of
30 each pharmaceutical assistance program profile to the respective
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1 manufacturer or wholesaler prior to publication of the profile
2 in the consumer guide for pharmaceutical assistance brochure.
3 The manufacturer or wholesaler has five days to notify the
4 department of any errors to be corrected. If the department
5 receives no notification of errors within this time, the data
6 profile shall be considered accurate.
7 Section 5. Disclosure of Internet address.
8 The department shall annually send the Uniform Resource
9 Locator of the consumer Internet guide to pharmaceutical
10 assistance programs to each county public assistance office,
11 each area agency on aging, the Department of Health and the
12 Department of Public Welfare to be published on the publicly
13 accessible World Wide Web site of each agency.
14 Section 6. Effective date.
15 This act shall take effect in 180 days.
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