Senate Bill sb0420
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2001 SB 420
By Senator Brown-Waite
10-490-01 See HB 133
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to a medication purchasing
3 cooperative; establishing a medication
4 purchasing cooperative to assist qualified
5 individuals with the purchase of prescribed
6 drugs at the lowest possible price; requiring
7 the Agency for Health Care Administration to
8 administer the cooperative; authorizing the
9 agency to promulgate rules; providing for
10 membership in the cooperative; requiring the
11 cooperative to annually solicit competitive
12 bids from licensed pharmacies to obtain
13 discounts for members; authorizing the agency
14 to charge a monthly membership fee to cover
15 administrative costs; providing for the
16 issuance of membership identification cards;
17 requiring participating pharmacies to guarantee
18 the discount on a prescribed drug at the rate
19 quoted in their contract with the state;
20 providing an appropriation; providing an
21 effective date.
22
23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
24
25 Section 1. Medication purchasing cooperative.--
26 (1) Notwithstanding any other general or special law
27 to the contrary, the Agency for Health Care Administration, in
28 consultation with the Department of Health, the Department of
29 Elderly Affairs, and the Department of Management Services,
30 shall establish a medication purchasing cooperative to assist
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2001 SB 420
10-490-01 See HB 133
1 qualified individuals with the purchase of prescribed drugs at
2 the lowest possible price.
3 (2) The medication purchasing cooperative shall be
4 administered by the agency.
5 (3) The agency is authorized to promulgate
6 administrative rules necessary to implement the provisions of
7 this section.
8 (4) Individuals eligible for membership in the
9 medication purchasing cooperative include residents of the
10 state who are 65 years of age or older, or vulnerable adults
11 as defined in s. 415.102(26), Florida Statutes, and who have
12 incomes at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty level.
13 The cooperative shall develop and implement application and
14 eligibility determination policies and procedures necessary to
15 determine eligibility for and enroll individuals in the
16 cooperative.
17 (5) At least annually, the medication purchasing
18 cooperative shall solicit competitive bids from licensed
19 pharmacies to obtain discounts on all prescribed medicines for
20 cooperative members. Companies bidding to serve the
21 cooperative's membership must bid a percentage discount on all
22 prescribed medicines listed in the state's procurement
23 document. The cooperative may solicit bids on a county,
24 regional, or statewide basis. The agency shall select
25 pharmacies to participate in the program based on price,
26 extent of drugs discounted, geographic coverage, and other
27 factors.
28 (6) The agency may charge individuals enrolled in the
29 cooperative a monthly membership fee at a level needed to
30 fully offset the administrative costs of the cooperative. The
31 agency shall issue an identification card to cooperative
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2001 SB 420
10-490-01 See HB 133
1 members for purposes of member identification to participating
2 pharmacies.
3 (7) Member use of the identification card or of
4 participating pharmacies is voluntary. However, when a member
5 presents a cooperative identification card to a participating
6 pharmacy, the pharmacy must guarantee the member a discount on
7 a prescribed drug at the rate quoted in its contract with the
8 state.
9 (8) The agency shall submit a report to the Speaker of
10 the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate
11 by January 1 of each year on the status of the cooperative,
12 including information such as total enrollment, number of
13 participating pharmacies, level of discounts, and savings
14 realized by members enrolled in the program.
15 Section 2. There is appropriated from the General
16 Revenue Fund to the Agency for Health Care Administration the
17 sum of $250,000 for implementation of the medication
18 purchasing cooperative provided for under this act.
19 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.
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22 LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY
23
Establishes a medication purchasing cooperative, under
24 the Agency for Health Care Administration, to assist
certain residents of the state who are elderly or
25 impaired in purchasing prescribed drugs at the lowest
possible price. Requires the cooperative to annually
26 solicit competitive bids from licensed pharmacies to
obtain discounts for members. Authorizes the agency to
27 charge a monthly membership fee to cover administrative
costs, and to issue membership identification cards.
28 Requires participating pharmacies to guarantee the
discount on a prescribed drug at the rate quoted in their
29 contract with the state. Provides an appropriation.
30
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.