ASSEMBLY, No. 3108

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

209th LEGISLATURE

INTRODUCED JANUARY 9, 2001

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman HERBERT CONAWAY, JR.

District 7 (Burlington and Camden)

Assemblyman NICHOLAS R. FELICE

District 40 (Bergen and Passaic)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblymen Guear and Conners

SYNOPSIS

    Requires DHSS to prepare and make available to public consumer guide on reducing prescription drug costs; appropriates $200,000.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

    As introduced.

An Act concerning information about prescription drug costs, supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes and making an appropriation.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. a. The Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, in consultation with the New Jersey Board of Pharmacy in the Division of Consumer Affairs of the Department of Law and Public Safety, shall prepare a pamphlet in English and Spanish that provides information, in a manner designed to be easily understandable to members of the general public, about how consumers can reduce their prescription drug costs.

    b. This consumer guide shall, at a minimum, include information about:

    (1) generic drugs and when they can be substituted for brand name medications;

    (2) the provision by pharmaceutical manufacturers of certain prescription drugs without charge to physicians whose patients cannot afford to pay for these medications out-of-pocket;

    (3) purchasing drugs through the Internet and safeguards to be observed when doing so;

    (4) telephone numbers for consumers to contact for related information, including information about how persons who qualify can obtain free prescription drugs from drug manufacturers; and

    (5) suggested questions for patients to ask their physicians and pharmacists, including, but not limited to, questions that relate to:

    (a) cost differences between brand name and generic drugs;

    (b) how medication is to be taken;

    (c) how to obtain a refill;

    (d) how to know whether medication is working and how long to wait for that;

    (e) what to do if medication is not working;

    (f) possible side effects of medications and whether they can be minimized in some way; and

    (g) how medication is to be stored.

    c. The Department of Health and Senior Services shall seek, to the maximum extent practicable, to provide public notice of the availability of the consumer guide, and shall, at a minimum:

    (1) make a supply of these guides available to all pharmacies registered with the New Jersey Board of Pharmacy and to the NJ EASE program for distribution to the public;

    (2) make the guide available on its website; and

    (3) distribute copies of the guide, upon request, to health care facilities, health care professionals, local health departments, community health centers and members of the general public.

    2. There is appropriated $200,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Health and Senior Services to carry out the purposes of this act.

    3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill requires the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, in consultation with the New Jersey Board of Pharmacy, to prepare a pamphlet in English and Spanish that provides information, in a manner designed to be easily understandable to members of the general public, about how consumers can reduce their prescription drug costs. The bill appropriates $200,000 to the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) for this purpose.

    Specifically, the bill provides that this consumer guide shall, at a minimum, include information about:

∙   generic drugs and when they can be substituted for brand name medications;

∙   the provision by pharmaceutical manufacturers of certain prescription drugs without charge to physicians whose patients cannot afford to pay for these medications out-of-pocket;

∙   purchasing drugs through the Internet and safeguards to be observed when doing so;

∙   telephone numbers for consumers to contact for related information, including information about how persons who qualify can obtain free prescription drugs from drug manufacturers; and

∙   suggested questions for patients to ask their physicians and pharmacists, including, but not limited to, questions that relate to:

    -- cost differences between brand name and generic drugs;

    -- how medication is to be taken;

    -- how to obtain a refill;

    -- how to know whether medication is working and how long to wait for that;

    -- what to do if medication is not working;

    -- possible side effects of medications and whether they can be minimized in some way; and

    -- how medication is to be stored.

    The bill further requires DHSS to provide public notice of the availability of the consumer guide, and, at a minimum, to:

    -- make a supply of these guides available to pharmacies and the NJ EASE program for distribution to the public;

    -- make the guide available on its website; and

    -- distribute copies of the guide, upon request, to health care facilities, health care professionals, local health departments, community health centers and members of the general public.

    The proposal for a consumer guide, as provided in this bill, is modeled after a guide issued by the Washington State Insurance Commissioner in October, 2000. Although broader systemic changes are needed to enhance the affordability and availability of prescription drugs, this guide is intended as a modest measure to help members of the general public cope with rising prescription drug costs and avoid possible pitfalls in their efforts to obtain the medications that they need to preserve their health.