An Act to ensure access to prescription medication and community pharmacies

This bill requires pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to pay community pharmacies fairly for services, prohibiting practices like "pharmacy steering" (steering patients to PBMs' own pharmacies) and ensuring non-affiliated pharmacies receive equal payment to affiliated ones. It mandates that maximum allowable drug costs for community pharmacies must be at least as high as those paid by Massachusetts Medicaid, with PBMs required to publicly disclose cost-setting methods and update these costs every three business days. Pharmacies can appeal if they believe drug costs are unfairly low or if a drug doesn't meet transparency requirements for inclusion on cost lists. The law directly affects community pharmacies, PBMs, and health benefit plans by standardizing payment fairness and increasing transparency in drug pricing.