California Enacts Legislation on Reporting of Prescription Drug Costs

California’s Senate and Assembly have both passed legislation on publishing prescription drug prices (SB-17) and presented the legislation to California Governor Jerry Brown on September 19, 2017. Under California law, the Governor has twelve days to sign or veto the legislation before it becomes law automatically. For SB-17, those twelve days were up yesterday, October 1, 2017, and the legislation automatically became law. What does the new legislation mean for those of us operating in California? The bill requires health plans and insurers that report rate information through the existing large and small group rate review process to also report specified information related to prescription drug pricing to Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) and California Department of Insurance (CDI). DHMC and CDI must then compile specified information into a consumer-friendly report that demonstrates the overall impact of drug costs on health care premiums. The legislation also requires drug manufacturers to notify specified purchasers (in writing at least ninety days prior to the planned effective date) if it is increasing the wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) of a prescription drug by specified amounts. This bill requires drug manufacturers to notify Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) three days after federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval when introducing a new drug to market at a WAC that exceeds the Medicare Part D specialty drug thresho...
Source: Policy and Medicine - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs