Senate Bill sb0320er

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    ENROLLED

    2003 Legislature                                 CS for SB 320



  1                                 

  2         An act relating to the Florida Medicaid

  3         program; amending s. 409.9066, F.S.; requiring

  4         the Agency for Health Care Administration to

  5         publish on a website the average wholesale

  6         prices of drugs provided through the program;

  7         requiring the agency to publish additional

  8         information to assist consumers; requiring a

  9         report on methods of pricing pharmaceutical

10         products purchased by the program; providing an

11         effective date.

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13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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15         Section 1.  Section 409.9066, Florida Statutes, is

16  amended to read:

17         409.9066  Medicare prescription discount program.--

18         (1)  As a condition of participation in the Florida

19  Medicaid program or the pharmaceutical expense assistance

20  program, a pharmacy must agree to charge any individual who is

21  a Medicare beneficiary and who is a Florida resident showing a

22  Medicare card when he or she presents a prescription, a price

23  no greater than the cost of ingredients equal to the average

24  wholesale price minus 9 percent, and a dispensing fee of

25  $4.50.

26         (2)  In lieu of the provisions of subsection (1), and

27  as a condition of participation in the Florida Medicaid

28  program or the pharmaceutical expense assistance program, a

29  pharmacy must agree to:

30         (a)  Provide a private voluntary prescription discount

31  program to state residents who are Medicare beneficiaries; or


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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.




    ENROLLED

    2003 Legislature                                 CS for SB 320



 1         (b)  Accept a private voluntary discount prescription

 2  program from state residents who are Medicare beneficiaries.

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 4  Discounts under this subsection must be at least as great as

 5  discounts under subsection (1).

 6         (3)  The Agency for Health Care Administration shall

 7  publish, on a free website available to the public, the most

 8  recent average wholesale prices for the 200 drugs most

 9  frequently dispensed to the elderly and, to the extent

10  possible, shall provide a mechanism that consumers may use to

11  calculate the retail price that should be paid after the

12  discount required in subsection (1) is applied.

13         Section 2.  By January 1, 2004, the Agency for Health

14  Care Administration shall submit to the Legislature a report

15  regarding the cost-effectiveness of, and alternatives to,

16  using average wholesale price in the pricing of pharmaceutical

17  products purchased by the Medicaid program.

18         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.