Bill Text: NY S06492 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended

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

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-0)

Status: (Enrolled - Dead) 2020-12-30 - DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR [S06492 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S06492-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         6492--B
            Cal. No. 555

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      June 13, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  RIVERA,  CARLUCCI,  GOUNARDES, HARCKHAM, HOYLMAN,
          KAPLAN, KRUEGER,  MAYER,  METZGER,  MYRIE,  PERSAUD,  RAMOS,  SALAZAR,
          SEPULVEDA, SERRANO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed
          to  be  committed  to  the  Committee  on  Rules -- recommitted to the
          Committee on Health in accordance  with  Senate  Rule  6,  sec.  8  --
          committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
          recommitted to said committee -- reported favorably from said  commit-
          tee  and  committed  to the Committee on Finance -- reported favorably
          from said committee, ordered to first and second report, ordered to  a
          third  reading,  amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in
          the order of third reading

        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:
    11    (a) consider modeling the program on the state's HIV/AIDS drug assist-
    12  ance program providing access to eligible individuals at certain  income
    13  thresholds above the federal poverty level; and
    14    (b)  engage  with  pharmaceutical  manufacturers  to  explore a public
    15  private partnership to bring affordable drugs  through  the  program  to
    16  eligible individuals.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13323-13-0
        S. 6492--B                          2

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