HB1554 Engrossed LRB094 08132 DRJ 40966 b

1     AN ACT concerning health.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5 Prescription Drug Price Finder Act.
 
6     Section 5. State of Illinois Prescription Drug Price
7 Finder. The Department of Public Aid shall establish and
8 maintain an online clearinghouse to be known as the State of
9 Illinois Prescription Drug Price Finder ("the Drug Price
10 Finder"). The Department shall maintain the Drug Price Finder
11 as part of the Department's official web site as provided in
12 Section 20. The Drug Price Finder shall identify the 50 most
13 commonly prescribed drugs in Illinois and their usual and
14 customary prices, as determined by the Department as provided
15 in Section 10.
 
16     Section 10. Drug price reporting.
17     (a) The Department of Public Aid shall acquire and compile
18 the information necessary to carry out the provisions of this
19 Act. The Department shall use information reported in
20 connection with pharmacies' requests for reimbursement under
21 the medical assistance program under Article V of the Illinois
22 Public Aid Code.
23     (b) For purposes of this Act, a pharmacy's "usual and
24 customary" price for a drug means the price that a cash-paying
25 consumer without insurance to cover the cost of the drug would
26 pay for the drug. The "usual and customary" price does not
27 include any discount that the pharmacy may offer to senior
28 citizens or to other persons.
29     (c) From the information reported by pharmacies under this
30 Act, the Department of Public Aid shall compile a list of the
31 50 most commonly prescribed drugs and their usual and customary

 

 

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1 prices.
 
2     Section 15. Participating pharmacies. Any licensed
3 pharmacist or pharmacy in the State may participate in the Drug
4 Price Finder program. Pharmacies that do not participate in the
5 program of medical assistance under Article V of the Illinois
6 Public Aid Code ("non-Medicaid pharmacies") may voluntarily
7 submit their usual and customary prices of prescription drugs
8 to the Department of Public Aid. The Department of Financial
9 and Professional Regulation shall make available to the
10 Department of Public Aid the licensure status of non-Medicaid
11 pharmacies participating in the Drug Price Finder program.
 
12     Section 20. Drug Price Finder web site.
13     (a) The Drug Price Finder web site must contain at least
14 the following information for each of the 50 most commonly used
15 prescription drugs as determined by the Department of Public
16 Aid as provided in Section 10:
17         (1) The drug's brand name.
18         (2) The drug's usual and customary price.
19         (3) The drug's generic name.
20         (4) The drug's strength, based on a typical 30-day
21     supply.
22         (5) The quantity of the drug prescribed, based on a
23     typical 30-day supply.
24         (6) The condition or conditions for which the drug is
25     typically prescribed as treatment.
26     (b) The Drug Price Finder web site must be interactive and
27 must allow a user to perform a variety of searches to obtain
28 information concerning a particular prescription drug
29 (including different drug strengths, if applicable), a
30 particular pharmacy, or a particular geographic location in the
31 State (including searches by county, municipality, or zip
32 code). For each prescription drug listed in the Drug Price
33 Finder, the search results shall identify the pharmacies that
34 dispensed that drug during the applicable period and each such

 

 

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1 pharmacy's usual and customary price for the drug during that
2 period. For each prescription drug listed in the Drug Price
3 Finder, the web site must allow a user to access the
4 information specified in subsection (a) of this Section.
5     (c) The Department of Public Aid shall update the
6 information contained on the Drug Price Finder web site at
7 least every 2 months and shall state on the web site the date
8 of the last update.
9     (d) The web site shall contain a disclaimer stating that
10 prescription drug prices may vary if the individual purchasing
11 a prescription drug is eligible for a discounted price under a
12 discount card or program. The disclaimer may also contain a
13 statement that the prices might not be the current prices
14 charged for a prescription and that more current pricing
15 information may be available from a pharmacy.
16     (e) The web site shall include links to other web sites,
17 including other State-sponsored prescription drug assistance
18 web sites and, if available, pharmacy web sites providing drug
19 pricing information.
 
20     Section 25. Operation of program; evaluation and report.
21     (a) The Department of Public Aid must ensure that the Drug
22 Price Finder program is fully operational within 9 months after
23 the effective date of this Act.
24     (b) Eighteen months after the Drug Price Finder program
25 begins operation, the Department of Public Aid shall evaluate
26 the program and report its findings and recommendations to the
27 General Assembly.
 
28     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
29 becoming law.