2015 Bills of Interest to SPC Members
1. Senate Bill 152 (Overbey)
House Bill 121 (Shepard)
This bill was introduced at the request of lobbyists for SPC and
TPA. It has a broad caption that would allow amendments to the PBM
statute, if any issues arise during the legislative session pertaining to
PBMs or to MAC pricing.
2. Senate Bill 33 (Overbey)
House Bill 122 (Shepard)
This bill creates an exemption from the sales tax for the sale of
diabetic testing supplies for human use, including lancets, test strips
for blood glucose monitors, visual read test strips, and urine test strips.
3. Senate Bill 497 (Haile)
House Bill 475 (Shepard)
This bill requires insurance companies to take the necessary
steps administratively so that a patient’s medications may be
synchronized.
4. Senate Bill 914 (Johnson)
House Bill 1012 (Shepard)
This bill requires all pharmacies that contract with TennCare to
post a printed notice regarding fraud and abuse. The bill sets forth the
information which must be included in the notice.
5. Senate Bill 409 (Overbey)
House Bill 229 (Shepard)
This bill is an initiative of the TPA. It is intended to work in
tandem with the recently adopted federal drug take-back rules.
In 2010 Congress adopted the Secure and Responsible Drug
Disposal Act. The purpose of this law is to encourage ultimate users of
drugs to deliver unused drugs to an appropriate person (such as a
pharmacy)
for
proper
disposal.
The
law
authorized
the
Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA) to develop rules to implement the
law. Final rules were published in the Federal Register on September 9,
2014, and became effective on October 9, 2014.
The state bill, known as the Ensuring Patient Access to
Pharmacy Drug Disposal Programs Act of 2015, will ensure that the
federal rules do not impose an undue burden on Tennessee pharmacies
that choose to participate in the federal take-back program.
The bill contains several important provisions:
1) Pharmacy disposal sites must comply with the new federal
rules, as well as any rules that may be adopted by the
Tennessee Board of Pharmacy.
2) Participation by any Tennessee pharmacy is voluntary.
3) The Tennessee Board of Pharmacy will maintain a list of
licensed pharmacies that have chosen to participate in the
drug disposal program; and
4) Pharmacies shall be held harmless and shall not be liable for
any theft, robbery, or other criminal activities related to their
participation in the drug disposal program, so long as they
are acting in good faith and are in compliance with all state
and federal rules.
6. Senate Bill 811 (Hensley)
House Bill 143 (Lundberg)
This bill is the Tennessee Right To Try Act. It is intended to
allow a patient with an advanced illness to utilize an investigational
drug, biological product, or device that has completed Phase 1 of a
clinical trial but has not yet been approved for general use by the FDA.
The bill sets forth the information which must be included in an
“informed consent” document signed by the patient. The bill includes
protections for health care providers, manufacturers, and insurers.
7. Senate Bill 97 (Norris)
House Bill 86 (McCormick)
This bill is a Haslam Administration initiative to curb the
diversion of controlled substances.
providers”
who
provide
It requires “third-party logistics
warehousing
and
other
services
to
manufacturers and wholesalers to register annually with the Board of
Pharmacy. Third-party logistics providers do not take ownership of the
drugs or devices and do not have responsibility for the sale or
disposition of the drug or device.
8. Senate Bill 97 (Norris)
House Bill 572 (Cameron Sexton)
This bill is intended to encourage the use of interchangeable
biological products licensed by the FDA. The bill requires a prescriber
to allow the substitution of an interchangeable biological product under
all circumstances, unless the prescriber determines that it would be
harmful or ineffective for a particular patient and so indicates on the
prescription order.
A pharmacist who substitutes an interchangeable biological
product must notify the patient of the substitution on the prescription
label and, within a reasonable time after the dispensing of the product
must notify the prescriber of the name and manufacturer of the product
dispensed to the patient.
9. Senate Bill 1248 (Dickerson)
House Bill 1284 (Williams)
This appears to be a “caption” bill which could be amended to
deal with any issue related to controlled substances.
10.
Senate Bill 45 (Haile)
House Bill 39 (Lamberth)
This bill creates a new criminal offense for the sale of a product
containing dextromethorphan to a minor.
11.
Senate Bill 601 (Dickerson)
House Bill 746 (Harrison)
This bill mandates insurance coverage of opioid analgesic drug
products.
12.
Senate Bill 21 (Beavers)
House Bill 723 (Pody)
This bill prohibits the dispensing of opioids or benzodiazepines
in a quantity greater than a 30-day supply, unless the patient is 65 years
old, confined to a nursing home or hospital, home-bound, or on a fixed
drug plan that charges a flat copayment for prescriptions. A physician
must certify that the patient meets one of the exceptions to justify a
quantity for more than 30 days.
13.
Senate Bill 111 (Norris)
House Bill 100 (McCormick)
This
Haslam
Administration
bill
makes
a
technical
correction in the pseudoephedrine law which was passed in the last
General Assembly. The change is not substantive.
14.
HJR 95 (Weaver)
This House Joint Resolution urges Congress to review the
340B Prescription Drug Program to make sure that it focuses on directly
serving low-income, indigent uninsured patients.
15.
SJR 102 (McNally)
This Senate Joint Resolution request the Board of Pharmacy
to conduct a survey of the working conditions of pharmacists and any
problems they are having with the license renewal system.
16.
SJR 104 (McNally)
This Senate Joint Resolution urges the TennCare Bureau to
incorporate medication therapy management into its healthcare
delivery systems to improve patient outcomes and control costs.