Step therapy protocols; to provide for a report to the legislative assembly; to provide for application; and to provide an expiration date.
Impact
The bill establishes clear guidelines defining metastatic cancer and associated conditions, which include symptoms that could endanger a patient's health if untreated. By clarifying these definitions and enforcing the prohibition against step therapy in specific circumstances, SB2248 is expected to enhance patient care for cancer patients in North Dakota. Additionally, the bill includes a provision requiring the Public Employees Retirement System to report on the implications of this legislation, suggesting a commitment to assessing its effectiveness within the state’s health insurance framework.
Summary
Senate Bill 2248 proposes amendments to the North Dakota Century Code relating to step therapy protocols for medications prescribed to treat metastatic cancer and associated conditions. The legislation specifically prohibits pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) and health plans from requiring patients to follow step therapy protocols for FDA-approved medications that are recommended by their healthcare providers. This initiative aims to ensure timely access to the most appropriate treatments for cancer patients, mitigating delays that can arise from the previous step therapy requirements, which often mandate trials of less effective medications before progressing to more effective options.
Contention
Despite its intent to improve healthcare access for patients, SB2248 may face opposition from certain stakeholders within the healthcare industry, particularly those who advocate for controlling prescription drug costs and managing healthcare expenditures. Critics might argue that the bill could lead to increased healthcare costs if patients access more expensive treatment options earlier in their therapy, bypassing potentially less costly drugs that could have been tried first. Thus, the legislation presents a balancing act between patient needs and overarching healthcare economic concerns.
Public employee fertility preservation health benefits; to provide for a report to the legislative assembly; to provide for application; and to provide an expiration date.
Public employee fertility health benefits; to provide for a report to the legislative assembly; to provide for application; and to provide an expiration date.
Minimum standards for coverage of antiobesity medication; to provide for a report to the legislative assembly; to provide for application; and to provide an expiration date.
Diagnostic breast examination and supplemental breast examination cost-sharing restrictions; to provide for a report to the legislative assembly; to provide for application; and to provide an expiration date.
Pharmacy benefits managers and prescription drug costs; to provide a penalty; to provide an appropriation; to provide for a transfer; to provide an effective date; to provide an expiration date; and to declare an emergency.
Prescriptions for testosterone not allowed to be transmitted or reported within the prescription drug monitoring database and removes from the records all existing information concerning prior testosterone prescriptions.
Prescriptions for testosterone not allowed to be transmitted or reported within the prescription drug monitoring database and removes from the records all existing information concerning prior testosterone prescriptions.
Increases the maximum fill for non-opioid, non-narcotic controlled substances found in schedule II, so that a sixty-day (60) supply may be dispensed at any one time.
Increases the maximum fill for non-opioid, non-narcotic controlled substances found in schedule II, so that a ninety-day (90) supply may be dispensed at any one time.