After an end-of-the-year digital advocacy push by independent pharmacy advocates including NCPA, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed into law two of the three bills in the state legislature’s Pharmacy Rescue Package. The bills had been on Hochul’s desk for months after the package was passed by an overwhelming majority of the state legislature in June. Hochul signed:
- S. 3762/A. 1396, which requires PBMs to register and be licensed in the state; requires PBMs to pass through all discounts, rebates, and price concessions to health plans or providers; and prohibits PBMs from requiring accreditation requirements than are more stringent than state or federal laws.
- S. 3566/A. 5854A, which bans mandatory mail order and protects patients’ ability to use the pharmacy of their choice.
NCPA, which ran a digital campaign supporting the bills, is disappointed that Hochul chose to veto the third bill, S.6603/A.7598, which would require Medicaid managed care plans to reimburse pharmacies at a transparent rate that more closely reflects the pharmacies’ acquisition costs plus a commensurate professional dispensing fee. NCPA and independent pharmacy advocates in New York will continue to fight for the bill.
