Section 3959.111. Access to information regarding maximum allowable cost pricing

(A)

(1)

(a) In each contract between a pharmacy benefit manager and a pharmacy, the pharmacy shall be given the right to obtain from the pharmacy benefit manager, within ten days after any request, a current list of the sources used to determine maximum allowable cost pricing. In each contract between a pharmacy benefit manager and a pharmacy, the pharmacy benefit manager shall be obligated to update and implement the pricing information at least every seven days and provide a means by which contracted pharmacies may promptly review pricing updates in a format that is readily available and accessible.

(b) A pharmacy benefit manager shall maintain a written procedure to eliminate products from the list of drugs subject to maximum allowable cost pricing in a timely manner.

(2) In each contract between a pharmacy benefit manager and a pharmacy, a pharmacy benefit manager shall be obligated to ensure that all of the following conditions are met prior to placing a prescription drug on a maximum allowable cost list:

(a) The drug is listed as "A" or "B" rated in the most recent version of the United States food and drug administration's approved drug products with therapeutic equivalence evaluations, or has an "NR" or "NA" rating or similar rating by nationally recognized reference.

(b) The drug is generally available for purchase by pharmacies in this state from a national or regional wholesaler and is not obsolete.

(3) Each contract between a pharmacy benefit manager and a pharmacy shall include a process to appeal, investigate, and resolve disputes regarding maximum allowable cost pricing that includes all of the following:

(a) A twenty-one-day limit on the right to appeal following the initial claim;

(b) A requirement that the appeal be investigated and resolved within twenty-one days after the appeal;

(c) A telephone number at which the pharmacy may contact the pharmacy benefit manager to speak to a person responsible for processing appeals;

(d) A requirement that a pharmacy benefit manager provide a reason for any appeal denial and the identification of the national drug code of a drug that may be purchased in this state by the pharmacy in this state from a national or regional wholesaler at a price at or below the benchmark price determined by the pharmacy benefit manager;

(e) A requirement that a pharmacy benefit manager make an adjustment not later than one day after the date of determination of the appeal. The adjustment shall be retroactive to the date the appeal was made and shall apply to all situated pharmacies as determined by the pharmacy benefit manager. This requirement does not prohibit a pharmacy benefit manager from retroactively adjusting a claim for the appealing pharmacy or for any other similarly situated pharmacies.

(B)

(1)

(a) A pharmacy benefit manager shall disclose to the plan sponsor whether or not the pharmacy benefit manager uses the same maximum allowable cost list when billing a plan sponsor as it does when reimbursing a pharmacy.

(b) If a pharmacy benefit manager uses multiple maximum allowable cost lists, the pharmacy benefit manager shall disclose to a plan sponsor any differences between the amount paid to a pharmacy and the amount charged to a plan sponsor.

(2) The disclosures required under division (B)(1) of this section shall be made within ten days of a pharmacy benefit manager and a plan sponsor signing a contract or within ten days of any applicable update to a maximum allowable cost list or lists.

(C) Notwithstanding division (B)(5) of section 3959.01 of the Revised Code, a health insuring corporation or a sickness and accident insurer shall comply with the requirements of this section and is subject to the penalties under section 3959.12 of the Revised Code if the corporation or insurer is a pharmacy benefit manager, as defined in section 3959.01 of the Revised Code.

Amended by 131st General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 64, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2015.