HB1554eng 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB1554 Engrossed LRB094 08132 DRJ 40966 b

AN ACT concerning health.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Prescription Drug Price Finder Act.

Section 5. State of Illinois Prescription Drug Price Finder. The Department of Public Aid shall establish and maintain an online clearinghouse to be known as the State of Illinois Prescription Drug Price Finder ("the Drug Price Finder"). The Department shall maintain the Drug Price Finder as part of the Department's official web site as provided in Section 20. The Drug Price Finder shall identify the 50 most commonly prescribed drugs in Illinois and their usual and customary prices, as determined by the Department as provided in Section 10.

Section 10. Drug price reporting.

(a) The Department of Public Aid shall acquire and compile the information necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. The Department shall use information reported in connection with pharmacies' requests for reimbursement under the medical assistance program under Article V of the Illinois Public Aid Code.

(b) For purposes of this Act, a pharmacy's "usual and customary" price for a drug means the price that a cash-paying consumer without insurance to cover the cost of the drug would pay for the drug. The "usual and customary" price does not include any discount that the pharmacy may offer to senior citizens or to other persons.

(c) From the information reported by pharmacies under this Act, the Department of Public Aid shall compile a list of the 50 most commonly prescribed drugs and their usual and customary prices.

Section 15. Participating pharmacies. Any licensed pharmacist or pharmacy in the State may participate in the Drug Price Finder program. Pharmacies that do not participate in the program of medical assistance under Article V of the Illinois Public Aid Code ("non-Medicaid pharmacies") may voluntarily submit their usual and customary prices of prescription drugs to the Department of Public Aid. The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation shall make available to the Department of Public Aid the licensure status of non-Medicaid pharmacies participating in the Drug Price Finder program.

Section 20. Drug Price Finder web site.

(a) The Drug Price Finder web site must contain at least the following information for each of the 50 most commonly used prescription drugs as determined by the Department of Public Aid as provided in Section 10:

(1) The drug's brand name.

(2) The drug's usual and customary price.

(3) The drug's generic name.

(4) The drug's strength, based on a typical 30-day supply.

(5) The quantity of the drug prescribed, based on a typical 30-day supply.

(6) The condition or conditions for which the drug is typically prescribed as treatment.

(b) The Drug Price Finder web site must be interactive and must allow a user to perform a variety of searches to obtain information concerning a particular prescription drug (including different drug strengths, if applicable), a particular pharmacy, or a particular geographic location in the State (including searches by county, municipality, or zip code). For each prescription drug listed in the Drug Price Finder, the search results shall identify the pharmacies that dispensed that drug during the applicable period and each such pharmacy's usual and customary price for the drug during that period. For each prescription drug listed in the Drug Price Finder, the web site must allow a user to access the information specified in subsection (a) of this Section.

(c) The Department of Public Aid shall update the information contained on the Drug Price Finder web site at least every 2 months and shall state on the web site the date of the last update.

(d) The web site shall contain a disclaimer stating that prescription drug prices may vary if the individual purchasing a prescription drug is eligible for a discounted price under a discount card or program. The disclaimer may also contain a statement that the prices might not be the current prices charged for a prescription and that more current pricing information may be available from a pharmacy.

(e) The web site shall include links to other web sites, including other State-sponsored prescription drug assistance web sites and, if available, pharmacy web sites providing drug pricing information.

Section 25. Operation of program; evaluation and report.

(a) The Department of Public Aid must ensure that the Drug Price Finder program is fully operational within 9 months after the effective date of this Act.

(b) Eighteen months after the Drug Price Finder program begins operation, the Department of Public Aid shall evaluate the program and report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.