OPPOSE: Senate Bill 479 as amended, increases drug costs, reduces transparency, hurts independent pharmacies, and hurts businesses.
The legislation mandates a price floor at which all pharmacies must be reimbursed for any drugs they purchase. This will increase costs for businesses and consumers. It does not enforce transparency requirements for PSAOs, and allows PSAOs to force independent pharmacies to purchase more expensive drugs when less costly alternatives may be available. It extends the benefits narrowly tailored to help rural pharmacists and those in pharmacy deserts, to large national chains. And it eliminates a tool often used by businesses to have price predictability on prescription drugs.
