00                            HOUSE BILL NO. 227                                                                          
01 "An Act relating to generic drug pricing for medical assistance recipients; and                                         
02 providing for an effective date."                                                                                       
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
04    * Section 1. AS 47.07.065 is amended to read:                                                                      
05            Sec. 47.07.065. Payment for prescribed drugs. Except as provided in (b) of                               
06       this section, the [THE] department shall pay for prescribed drugs under                                       
07       AS 47.07.030(b) under regulations adopted by the commissioner in conformity with                                  
08       applicable federal regulations.                                                                                   
09    * Sec. 2. AS 47.07.065 is amended by adding new subsections to read:                                               
10            (b)  The department may not pay for or list a prescribed generic drug unless the                             
11       manufacturer of the generic drug has established a price for medical assistance                                   
12       recipients in the state by an open and competitive bidding process that is designed to                            
13       obtain a prescription drug at the lowest price and without influence.                                             
14            (c)  In this section,                                                                                        

01                 (1)  "competitive bidding process" means a procedure in which pricing                                   
02       from generic prescription drug manufacturers is established by open advertisement                                 
03       based on the scope, specification, terms, and conditions of a proposed contract to                                
04       purchase generic prescription drugs for sale to a medical assistance recipient in the                             
05       state; the procedure must include publicly available criteria by which bids will be                               
06       evaluated;                                                                                                        
07                 (2)  "generic drug" means a copy of a name-brand drug that is no                                        
08       longer protected by patents and that is                                                                           
09                      (A)  identical in strength, dosage form, and route of                                              
10            administration as the name-brand equivalent;                                                                 
11                      (B)  has the same indications, dosing, and labeling; and                                           
12                      (C)  provides the same efficacy and safety to patients as the                                      
13            name-brand equivalent.                                                                                       
14    * Sec. 3. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to                          
15 read:                                                                                                                   
16       APPLICABILITY. Six months after the effective date of this Act the Department of                                  
17 Health and Social Services shall remove from the preferred drug list established and                                    
18 maintained by the department all generic prescription drugs that have not undergone a                                   
19 competitive bidding process consistent with this Act.                                                                   
20    * Sec. 4. This Act takes effect July 1, 2012.