HF 687 Summary

• Health plans providing prescription drug coverage must cover emergency prescription drugs dispensed by pharmacists under the same terms as drugs dispensed with a prescription.

• Pharmacy benefit managers must allow synchronization of prescription drug refills for patients on at least one occasion per year if drugs are covered maintenance medications with available refills, are not Schedule II-IV controlled substances, meet utilization management criteria, can be safely split, and have no special handling needs.

• Pharmacists may dispense up to a 30-day supply of non-controlled legend drugs without a current prescription if the patient has been compliant, the pharmacy has a record of the original prescription, the prescriber cannot be contacted, the drug is essential for life or chronic condition therapy, and failure to dispense would cause harm.

• Pharmacists dispensing emergency refills must notify the prescriber within 72 hours and cannot dispense the same drug to the same patient more than once in any 12-month period.

• Physician assistants and dental therapists are added to the definition of "practitioner" for purposes of emergency prescription refills and other related provisions.