HI SR50

Discourages health plans from creating and using specialty tiers for prescription drugs that require patients to pay significantly higher copayments or coinsurance percentages.

Identifies specialty drugs as new, infusible, or injectible biologics and plasma-derived therapies used to treat conditions including cancer, autoimmune diseases, hemophilia, hepatitis, and other serious illnesses.

States that high out-of-pocket costs for specialty drugs prevent patients from following prescribed treatment protocols and force them to choose between medication and basic living expenses.

Argues specialty tiers violate insurance principles by shifting costs to the sickest patients and serve as barriers to treatment rather than controlling healthcare costs.

Requests certified copies be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Health, Director of Human Services, Director of Labor and Industrial Relations, and Insurance Commissioner for distribution to all state health insurers.