The bill imposes requirements regarding the administration of prescription drug benefits under health benefit plans as follows: Requires a health insurer to submit to the commissioner of insurance a list of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) the health insurer uses to manage or administer prescription drug benefits under its health benefit plans offered in this state; Requires health insurers and PBMs to submit their programs for compensating pharmacies and pharmacists and their prescription drug formularies under their prescription drug benefits plans, and the commissioner is authorized to review the compensation programs to ensure they are fair and reasonable to provide an adequate network of pharmacies and pharmacists under their prescription drug benefits plans; Requires a PBM to also report to the commissioner the amount the PBM expects to be reimbursed from health insurers for pharmacist services; Prohibits health insurers and PBMs from: Causing or knowingly permitting the use of any untrue, deceptive, or misleading advertisement, promotion, solicitation, representation, proposal, or offer; Charging a pharmacy or pharmacist a fee for adjudicating a claim; Requiring stricter pharmacy accreditation standards or certification requirements than the standards or requirements that are required by the state board of pharmacy; Reimbursing an independent pharmacy or pharmacist an amount that is less than the amount the health insurer or PBM reimburses an affiliated pharmacy or pharmacist; and Modifying their prescription drug formulary at any time during the benefit year. If a pharmacy or pharmacist is eliminated from a health care provider or PBM network, specifies that the health insurer or PBM is not relieved of any obligation to pay for pharmacist services properly rendered before elimination from the network; and Requires health insurers and PBMs to report specified claims data to the commissioner and the all-payer health claims database. The commissioner is authorized to adopt rules to implement the bill and to enforce the bill using all powers granted the commissioner under the insurance laws of this state. A health insurer is: Responsible for complying with the bill and ensuring any PBM the health insurer uses is complying with the bill; and Liable for failure of the health insurer or PBM to comply.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
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In 2019, the Colorado general assembly enacted, and the governor subsequently signed into law, the Canadian prescription drug importation program (program) in the department of health care policy and financing (department). The department is directed to request approval of the program on or before September 1, 2020, from the United States secretary of health and human services and to implement the program upon receipt of approval. The bill states that the department may expand the program to allow a manufacturer, wholesale distributor, or pharmacy from a nation other than Canada to export prescription drugs into the state under the program if certain conditions are met. If, upon the satisfaction of these conditions, the department decides to expand the program, the executive director of the department shall notify the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives, as well as the health and human services committee of the senate and the health and insurance committee of the house of representatives, or any successor committees, of the department's intent to do so. The executive director shall provide the notice at least 30 days before the program is expanded, and the notice may include any recommendations of the department for legislation to amend the program to reflect its expansion. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill directs the department of health care policy and financing (state department), or a third party with whom the department contracts, to collect, analyze, and report prescription drug production cost data regarding the 20 highest-cost prescription drugs per course of therapy and the 20 highest-cost prescription drugs by volume that were purchased or paid for by the departments of corrections, human services, personnel, and health care policy and financing (departments) during the 2019-20 and future state fiscal years. Upon receipt of a list of the highest-cost prescription drugs purchased or paid for by the departments, the state department or its designated contractor, as applicable, is directed to request from the manufacturers of the drugs on the list information showing the basis for and components of the wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) of each drug on the list. The state department or its designated contractor, as applicable, is to analyze the data received from drug manufacturers and report its findings regarding the basis for the WAC for each prescription drug on the list, specifying the percentage of the WAC that is attributable to each component driving the WAC. The state department is required to provide an annual prescription drug price transparency report by December 1, 2021, and each December 1 thereafter to specified legislative committees. The state department and its designated contractor, as applicable, are required to maintain the confidentiality of any proprietary information received from a drug manufacturer, and that information is exempt from the "Colorado Open Records Act". The executive director of the state department is authorized to adopt rules as necessary to implement and administer the bill. A manufacturer that fails to report the required information is subject to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per day. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Section 1 of the bill enacts the "Colorado Prescription Drug Price TransparencyAct of 2020", which requires: Health insurers, starting in 2021, to submit to the commissioner of insurance (commissioner) information regarding prescription drugs covered under their health insurance plans that the health insurers paid for in the preceding calendar year, including information about rebates received from prescription drug manufacturers, a certification regarding how rebates were accounted for in insurance premiums, and a list of all pharmacy benefit management firms (PBMs) with whom they contract; Prescription drug manufacturers to notify the commissioner, state purchasers, health insurers, PBMs, pharmacies, and hospitals when the manufacturer, on or after January 1, 2021, increases the price of certain prescription drugs by more than specified amounts or introduces a new specialty drug in the commercial market; Prescription drug manufacturers, within 15 days after the end of each calendar quarter that starts on or after January 1, 2021, to provide specified information to the commissioner regarding the drugs about which the manufacturer notified purchasers; Health insurers or, if applicable, PBMs to annually report specified information to the commissioner regarding rebates and administrative fees received from manufacturers for prescription drugs they paid for in the prior calendar year and the average wholesale price paid for prescription drugs by individuals, small employers, and large employers enrolled in health plans issued by the health insurer or that contain prescription drug benefits managed or administered by the PBM; and Certain nonprofit organizations to compile and submit to the commissioner an annual report indicating the amount of each payment, donation, subsidy, or thing of value received by the nonprofit organization or its officers, employees, or board members from a prescription drug manufacturer, PBM, health insurer, or trade association and the percentage of the nonprofit organization's total gross income that is attributable to those payments, donations, subsidies, or things of value. The commissioner is required to post the information received from health insurers, prescription drug manufacturers, PBMs, and nonprofit organizations on the division of insurance's website, excluding any information that the commissioner determines is proprietary. Additionally, the commissioner, or a disinterested third-party contractor, is to analyze the data reported by health insurers, prescription drug manufacturers, PBMs, and nonprofit organizations and other relevant information to determine the effect of prescription drug costs on health insurance premiums. The commissioner is to publish a report each year, submit the report to the governor and specified legislative committees, and present the report during annual "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act" hearings. The commissioner is authorized to adopt rules as necessary to implement the requirements of the bill. Health insurers that fail to report the required data are subject to a fine of up to $10,000 per day per report. Nonprofit organizations are subject to a fine of up to $10,000 for failure to comply with reporting requirements. Section 2 specifies that failing to ensure that a PBM that a health insurer uses to manage or administer its prescription drug benefits is complying with reporting requirements constitutes an unfair method of competition and an unfair or deceptive act or practice in the business of insurance. Section 3 specifies that a PBM is an entity that manages or administers prescription drug benefits for a health insurer, either pursuant to a contract or as an entity associated with the health insurer. Under sections 4 and 5 , a prescription drug manufacturer that fails to notify purchasers or fails to report required data to the commissioner is subject to discipline by the state board of pharmacy, including a penalty of up to $10,000 per day for each day the manufacturer fails to comply with the notice or reporting requirements. The commissioner is to report manufacturer violations to the state board of pharmacy. Section 6 requires a health insurer to reduce premiums for the health plans it issues or renews on or after January 1, 2022, to adjust for the rebates the health insurer received from prescription drug manufacturers in the previous plan year.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Under current provisions of the Open Meetings Law (OML), if elected officials use electronic mail to discuss pending legislation or other public business among themselves, the electronic mail constitutes a meeting that is subject to the OML's requirements. The bill substitutes the word "exchange" for the word "use" in describing the type of electronic mail communication that triggers the application of the OML. The bill clarifies existing statutory provisions to specify that electronic mail communication between elected officials that does not relate to the merits or substance of pending legislation or other public business is not a meeting for OML purposes. Under the bill, the type of electronic communication that also does not constitute a meeting for OML purposes includes electronic communication regarding scheduling and availability as well as electronic communication that is sent by an elected official for the purpose of forwarding information, responding to an inquiry from an individual who is not a member of the state or local public body, or posing a question for later discussion by the public body. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill repeals a section on assisted reproduction of the "Uniform Parentage Act" and replaces it with a new "Colorado Surrogacy Agreement Act" (act). The act: Establishes eligibility requirements for entering into surrogacy agreements (agreements) and required elements of the agreements; Contains provisions governing the termination of agreements and the effect of a death or a change in marital status of any of the parties to such agreements; Authorizes court orders recognizing and enforcing agreements; and Specifies the duties of persons under the agreements.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill enacts the "Genetic Counselor Licensure Act". On and after June 1, 2021, a person cannot practice genetic counseling without being licensed by the director of the division of professions and occupations in the department of regulatory agencies. To be licensed, a person must have been certified by a national body; except that the director may issue a provisional license to a candidate for certification pursuant to requirements established by rule. The bill gives title protection to genetic counselors and standard licensing, rule-making, and disciplinary powers to the director. Genetic counselors must have insurance. The bill repeals the act on September 1, 2027, subject to sunset review. Genetic counselors are subject to the mandatory disclosures of the "Michael Skolnik Medical Transparency Act of 2010". The bill appropriates $35,895 from the division of professions and occupations cash fund to the division of professions and occupations in the department of regulatory agencies, of which $15,990 is reappropriated to the department of law, to implement the act. (Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.) (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill creates the "Traveling Exotic Animal Safety Protection Act" (Act), which prohibits the use of exotic animals in a traveling animal act. A person who violates the Act commits a misdemeanor and is subject to a fine of between $250 and $1,000 per violation. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill specifies the standard of care that each animal shelter and pet animal rescue is required to provide each dog and cat held in its custody. The bill also requires each animal shelter and pet animal rescue to adopt out each dog and cat in its custody, return the animal to its owner, or transfer it to another animal shelter or pet animal rescue if the dog or cat: Exhibits no signs of illness or injury or exhibits signs of illness or injury for which there is a realistic prognosis for a good quality of life; Demonstrates a willingness to interact socially with humans; and Has not exhibited behavior that is likely to result in bodily injury or death to another animal or human being.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)