Healthcare

Changes the statewide standing order for the dispensing of a smoking cessation product to a tobacco, vaping, or nicotine cessation product. Amends the date by which a hospital must submit the hospital's fiscal report and patient information report to the state department. Removes a requirement that a home health aide competency evaluation program include at least 75 hours of training and 16 hours of classroom training before supervised practical training. Adds Parkinson's disease to the definition of "chronic disease" for provisions concerning the chronic disease registry. Requires: (1) the state department to maintain a trauma registry; and (2) certain health care facilities to submit data to the registry. Establishes requirements for the handling and transporting of infectious waste. Sets forth factors the state department must consider in determining the nature of and civil penalty for a violation of infectious waste requirements. Expands provisions concerning epinephrine, including provisions allowing a pharmacist to dispense and an entity to prescribe epinephrine rather than auto-injectable epinephrine. Removes the expiration of provisions concerning lead screening for children. Requires a registered manufacturer, processor, repackager, or wholesale distributor of food, drugs, or cosmetics to comply with federal regulations concerning good manufacturing practices. Allows the state health commissioner to enter and inspect the premises of the manufacturer, processor, repackager, or wholesale distributor. Permits a local health department to conduct inspections of certain manufacturers, processors, repackagers, or wholesale distributors. Amends the information a local child fatality review team and the statewide child fatality review committee may review in conducting a child fatality review. Allows a suicide and overdose fatality review team and a fetal-infant mortality review team to provide records to the state department. Requires the state department to maintain the confidentiality of these records. Requires a medical school to: (1) include nutrition education in the school's curriculum; and (2) require students to complete a rural health rotation. Voids administrative rules concerning infectious waste and the state trauma registry.

Prohibits a hospital from billing for an administered drug an amount that exceeds the lesser of the following: (1) 120% of the Medicare reimbursement rate for the administered drug. (2) The amount the hospital bills for the administered drug on June 30, 2026. Creates an exception. Requires a hospital to update the Medicare reimbursement rate for an administered drug on January 1 and July 1 of each year.

Requires a hospital to: (1) disclose information concerning payment assistance programs; (2) post signs concerning the programs in specified locations of the hospital; and (3) make information concerning the programs available to individuals through the hospital's patient portal. Requires a hospital to make a reasonable effort to notify individuals of available payment assistance programs before beginning a collection action against the individual. Prohibits the use of downcoding in a specified manner. Prohibits a provider from using an automated process, system, or tool to submit a health benefits claim without the review of a provider or other person involved in the development of the claim for submission. Prohibits an insurer that issues a policy of accident and sickness insurance (insurer) and a health maintenance organization from retroactively reducing the reimbursement rate for any CPT code. Sets forth limitations on the time frame in which an insurer and a health maintenance organization: (1) may request repayment of an overpayment, adjust a subsequent claim, recoup a paid claim, or retroactively audit a paid claim; and (2) is required to correct a payment error to a provider. Provides that if an insurer or a health maintenance organization recoups payment from a provider due to an error in coordination of benefits, the provider may submit a claim for the same services to the appropriate insurer or health maintenance organization.

Requires the office of the secretary of family and social services to apply, not later than October 1, 2026, for approval of a Section 1115 Medicaid demonstration waiver to provide coverage for health related social needs.

Requires, upon issuance and renewal of a policy, an insurer to provide a directory of providers with which the insurer has entered into a reimbursement agreement to an insured or prospective insured. (Under current law, an insurer may provide a directory of providers to an insured.) Provides that: (1) a directory of providers provided by an insurer must include every provider that has entered into a reimbursement agreement with the insurer; and (2) a list of providers provided by a health maintenance organization must include every provider who provides health care services through the health maintenance organization.

Requires the state health commissioner to issue a standing order, prescription, or protocol to allow a pharmacist to test, treat, or prescribe, if specified requirements are met. Provides a pharmacist with civil immunity in the testing, treating, or prescribing unless the pharmacist's actions constitute gross negligence, willful or wanton misconduct, or intentional wrongdoing. Requires the Indiana board of pharmacy to adopt rules concerning a pharmacist testing, treating, or prescribing for individuals.

Allows an individual's spouse, legal guardian, friend, relative, or medical service provider to petition a court for involuntary substance use disorder treatment. Requires a petition to include certain information and allows a court to dismiss a petition, without prejudice, if it does not contain the required information. Requires the court to appoint a public defender if the individual subject to a petition seeking involuntary substance use disorder treatment is not represented by an attorney. Requires a court to order the individual to be evaluated by a medical provider if the court finds that: (1) the individual has a substance use disorder; (2) because of the individual's substance use disorder, the individual is experiencing impaired judgment and is unable to independently maintain the individual's activities of daily living or is a danger to self or others; and (3) the individual refuses to voluntarily participate in substance use disorder treatment. Allows a court to order a local law enforcement agency to consider whether an individual meets the criteria for emergency detention under certain circumstances. Requires a medical provider who completes an evaluation concerning an individual's need for substance use disorder treatment to submit the evaluation to the court. Specifies that after receiving an evaluation from a medical provider, the court may dismiss the petition or set a hearing for further evidence to be presented about the individual's need for substance use disorder treatment. Requires a court to order involuntary outpatient substance use disorder treatment for a period, not to exceed 90 days, if medical evidence supports that the individual requires immediate treatment for a substance use disorder and the individual has refused treatment.

Requires an insurer to cap the total amount an insured is required to pay for a 30 day supply of prescription insulin drugs at an amount not to exceed $35, regardless of the number of prescriptions and different types of insulin prescribed and filled during that period.

Allows a group or association of child care facilities to establish a multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA). Requires the department of insurance to: (1) create a survey requesting certain information from child care facilities; (2) facilitate communication between child care facilities that express an interest in establishing a MEWA; and (3) advise the child care facilities on best practices for lowering insurance costs. Requires the office of the secretary of family and social services to send a direct link to the survey by electronic mail to each child care facility.

Requires a hospital to: (1) inform a woman in premature labor of the hospital's capabilities of treating the born alive infant and managing a high risk pregnancy; and (2) if the hospital's capabilities interfere with the woman's care, provide this information before the woman is admitted to the hospital. Provides that if a born alive infant is transported to a hospital with an appropriate perinatal level of care, the woman must be offered an opportunity to be transported to the same hospital. Requires a local prosecuting attorney to investigate and seek criminal prosecution if the prosecuting attorney has probable cause to believe that a health care provider may have knowingly or intentionally: (1) violated the requirements concerning the treatment and care of a born alive infant or mother or the professional standards of practice through the health care provider's actions or inactions; and (2) caused harm or death to the born alive infant or mother.