Bill Text: NY A08533 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Establishes a drug assistance demonstration program and authorizes emergency prescriptions.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 53-5)

Status: (Enrolled - Dead) 2020-12-30 - DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR [A08533 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A08533-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         8533--B

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     August 14, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  JOYNER,  O'DONNELL, LENTOL, WILLIAMS, REYES,
          SEAWRIGHT, SIMON, HEVESI, FERNANDEZ, DINOWITZ, BURKE, MOSLEY, DICKENS,
          L. ROSENTHAL,  ARROYO,  FALL,  SMITH,  McDONOUGH,  MONTESANO,   ORTIZ,
          COLTON,  THIELE,  JAFFEE,  GUNTHER,  CRUZ,  COOK,  MAGNARELLI, WALKER,
          CARROLL, DE LA ROSA, BLAKE, GRIFFIN, D'URSO, BRONSON, DenDEKKER, BENE-
          DETTO, SAYEGH, JACOBSON, STIRPE, MANKTELOW, GOTTFRIED,  BARRON,  OTIS,
          TAYLOR, SIMOTAS, D. ROSENTHAL, NIOU, GLICK, WOERNER, LAVINE, ABINANTI,
          M. G. MILLER,  AUBRY,  BUTTENSCHON  --  Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
          BUCHWALD, TAGUE -- read once and referred to the Committee  on  Health
          --  recommitted to the Committee on Health in accordance with Assembly
          Rule  3,  sec.  2  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
          reprinted  as amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted
          to the Committee on Health in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec.  2
          --  committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
          and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation  to  drug  assistance
          demonstration and emergency prescriptions

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding two new sections
     2  279-a and 279-b to read as follows:
     3    § 279-a. Drug assistance demonstration program.  1.  The  commissioner
     4  shall  develop a demonstration program (the "program") to provide access
     5  to insulin and other  life  sustaining  maintenance  prescription  drugs
     6  identified  by the commissioner for residents of the state who are with-
     7  out health coverage, are ineligible for Medicaid or other publicly fund-
     8  ed health coverage, or are otherwise determined to be  eligible  by  the
     9  commissioner  and  depend  upon  such  medication for their survival. In
    10  developing the program the commissioner shall:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13323-12-0
        A. 8533--B                          2

     1    (a) consider modeling the program on the state's HIV/AIDS drug assist-
     2  ance program providing access to eligible individuals at certain  income
     3  thresholds above the federal poverty level; and
     4    (b)  engage  with  pharmaceutical  manufacturers  to  explore a public
     5  private partnership to bring affordable drugs  through  the  program  to
     6  eligible individuals.
     7    2. The commissioner shall report to the governor, the temporary presi-
     8  dent  of  the senate, the speaker of the assembly, and the chairs of the
     9  senate and assembly health committees on the available options to estab-
    10  lish the program, various cost sharing models for eligible  participants
    11  and  the  related  costs  to  the state associated with implementing the
    12  program. The report shall be a public document  posted  on  the  depart-
    13  ment's  website.  The  report shall be issued no later than three months
    14  after the effective date of this section.
    15    § 279-b. Emergency prescriptions. 1. A health care practitioner who is
    16  authorized  to  prescribe  a  drug  may  issue  a   non-patient-specific
    17  prescription  for  the  drug  to  a  pharmacist to dispense an emergency
    18  refill for an expired prescription for the drug, under  subdivision  two
    19  of this section.
    20    2.  A  pharmacist  may dispense insulin and related supplies, or other
    21  life sustaining maintenance prescription drug identified by the  commis-
    22  sioner,  through  a  non-patient-specific prescription, to an individual
    23  who has had a valid prescription for the drug during  the  prior  twelve
    24  month period which has since expired, on an emergency basis provided the
    25  pharmacist:
    26    (a)  first  attempts to obtain an authorization from the prescriber of
    27  the patient-specific prescription and cannot obtain  the  authorization,
    28  and  the  prescriber  does not object to dispensing to the patient under
    29  the non-patient-specific prescription;
    30    (b) believes that, in  the  pharmacist's  professional  judgment,  the
    31  interruption  of  the  therapy  reasonably  might produce an undesirable
    32  health consequence detrimental to the patient's welfare or  cause  phys-
    33  ical or mental discomfort;
    34    (c)  provides  refill  of  the  prescription  and the quantity of that
    35  refill is in conformity with the directions for use under  the  patient-
    36  specific  prescription, but limited to an amount not to exceed a thirty-
    37  day emergency supply; and
    38    (d) notifies, within seventy-two hours of  dispensing  the  refill  or
    39  refills, the original prescriber that an emergency prescription has been
    40  dispensed.
    41    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.