An Act to ensure access to prescription medications

This bill amends Massachusetts law to regulate how pharmacy benefit managers and insurance companies set maximum allowable costs for prescription drugs. It requires these entities to ensure their reimbursement rates are at least equal to the actual cost pharmacies pay to acquire medications and mandates that costs for independent pharmacies cannot be lower than those for affiliated ones. The legislation also establishes a process for pharmacies to appeal cost decisions if they believe the set maximum is too low, requiring a final response within seven business days. Additionally, the bill sets specific criteria for placing drugs on cost lists, such as requiring the availability of generic options, and mandates that updated cost lists be shared with pharmacies in a secure, web-based format.