STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2669

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2656

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2656, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MEDICATION SYNCHRONIZATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to authorize medication synchronization of a patient's prescriptions of maintenance medications refilled by a network pharmacy.

More specifically, this measure requires health insurers, mutual benefit societies, and health maintenance organizations, with a patient's request or agreement, to apply a prorated daily cost-sharing rate to prescriptions dispensed by a network pharmacy for less than a thirty days' supply.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Health, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Hawaii Association of Professional Nurses, Walgreen Co., and eight concerned individuals.

Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Insurance Division, and Hawaii Medical Service Association.

Your Committee finds that medication synchronization allows a pharmacist to review a patient's medications and synchronize medication refills so that the patient may pick up all the patient's refills on a single day each month. Without medication synchronization, patients who require long-term maintenance medications are at risk of missing doses of their regular medications. Studies indicate that when medications are synchronized, medication adherence rates rise.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure; and

(2) Making technical nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2656, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2656, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair