§ 5-36 — Pharmacy benefits

(a)(1) The Department may enter into a contract with a third party on a fee-for-service reimbursement model for the purpose of administering pharmacy benefits as provided in this Section for members not enrolled in a Medicaid managed care organization; however, these services shall be approved by the Department. The Department shall ensure coordination of care between the third-party administrator and managed care organizations as a consideration in any contracts established in accordance with this Section. Any managed care techniques, principles, or administration of benefits utilized in accordance with this subsection shall comply with State law. (2) The following shall apply to contracts between entities contracting relating to the Department's third-party administrators and pharmacies: (A) the Department shall approve any contract between a third-party administrator and a pharmacy; (B) the Department's third-party administrator shall not change the terms of a contract between a third-party administrator and a pharmacy without written approval by the Department; and (C) the Department's third-party administrator shall not create, modify, implement, or indirectly establish any fee on a pharmacy, pharmacist, or a recipient of medical assistance without written approval by the Department. (b) The provisions of this Section shall not apply to outpatient pharmacy services provided by a health care facility registered as a covered entity pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 256b or any pharmacy owned by or contracted with the covered entity. A Medicaid managed care organization shall, either directly or through a pharmacy benefit manager, administer and reimburse outpatient pharmacy claims submitted by a health care facility registered as a covered entity pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 256b, its owned pharmacies, and contracted pharmacies in accordance with the contractual agreements the Medicaid managed care organization or its pharmacy benefit manager has with such facilities and pharmacies and in accordance with subsection (h-5). (b-5) Any pharmacy benefit manager that contracts with a Medicaid managed care organization to administer and reimburse pharmacy claims as provided in this Section must be registered with the Director of Insurance in accordance with Section 513b2 of the Illinois Insurance Code. A pharmacy benefit manager must comply with all provisions of Article XXXIIB of the Illinois Insurance Code to the extent that the provisions do not prevent the application of any provision of this Article or applicable federal law. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to limit the authority of the Illinois Department or the Inspector General to administer or enforce any provisions of this Section or any other Section in the Illinois Public Aid Code related to pharmacy benefit managers or Medicaid managed care entity. (c) On at least an annual basis, the Director of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall submit a report beginning no later than one year after January 1, 2020 (the effective date of Public Act 101-452) that provides an update on any contract, contract issues, formulary, dispensing fees, and maximum allowable cost concerns regarding a third-party administrator and managed care. The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly shall be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the Speaker, the Minority Leader, and the Clerk of the House of Representatives and with the President, the Minority Leader, and the Secretary of the Senate. The Department shall take care that no proprietary information is included in the report required under this Section. (d) (Blank). (e) A pharmacy benefit manager shall, upon request, disclose to the Department the following information: (1) whether the pharmacy benefit manager has a contract, agreement, or other arrangement with a pharmaceutical manufacturer to exclusively dispense or provide a drug to a managed care organization's enrollees, and the aggregate amounts of consideration of economic benefits collected or received pursuant to that arrangement; (2) the percentage of claims payments made by the pharmacy benefit manager to pharmacies owned, managed, or controlled by the pharmacy benefit manager or any of the pharmacy benefit manager's management companies, parent companies, subsidiary companies, or jointly held companies; (3) the aggregate amount of the fees or assessments imposed on, or collected from, pharmacy providers; (4) the average annualized percentage of revenue collected by the pharmacy benefit manager as a result of each contract it has executed with a managed care organization contracted by the Department to provide medical assistance benefits which is not paid by the pharmacy benefit manager to pharmacy providers and pharmaceutical manufacturers or labelers or in order to perform administrative functions pursuant to its contracts with managed care organizations; (5) the total number of prescriptions dispensed under each contract the pharmacy benefit manager has with a managed care organization (MCO) contracted by the Department to provide medical assistance benefits; (6) the aggregate wholesale acquisition cost for drugs that were dispensed to enrollees in each MCO with which the pharmacy benefit manager has a contract by any pharmacy owned, managed, or controlled by the pharmacy benefit manager or any of the pharmacy benefit manager's management companies, parent companies, subsidiary companies, or jointly-held companies; (7) the aggregate amount of administrative fees that the pharmacy benefit manager received from all pharmaceutical manufacturers for prescriptions dispensed to MCO enrollees; (8) for each MCO with which the pharmacy benefit manager has a contract, the aggregate amount of payments received by the pharmacy benefit manager from the MCO; (9) for each MCO with which the pharmacy benefit manager has a contract, the aggregate amount of reimbursements the pharmacy benefit manager paid to contracting pharmacies; and (10) any other information considered necessary by the Department. (f) The information disclosed under subsection (e) shall include all retail, mail order, specialty, and compounded prescription products. All information made available to the Department under subsection (e) is confidential and not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. All information made available to the Department under subsection (e) shall not be reported or distributed in any way that compromises its competitive, proprietary, or financial value. The information shall only be used by the Department to assess the contract, agreement, or other arrangements made between a pharmacy benefit manager and a pharmacy provider, pharmaceutical manufacturer or labeler, managed care organization, or other entity, as applicable. (g) A pharmacy benefit manager shall disclose directly in writing to a pharmacy provider or pharmacy services administrative organization contracting with the pharmacy benefit manager of any material change to a contract provision that affects the terms of the reimbursement, the process for verifying benefits and eligibility, dispute resolution, procedures for verifying drugs included on the formulary, and contract termination at least 30 days prior to the date of the change to the provision. The terms of this subsection shall be deemed met if the pharmacy benefit manager posts the information on a website, viewable by the public. A pharmacy service administration organization shall notify all contract pharmacies of any material change, as described in this subsection, within 2 days of notification. As used in this Section, "pharmacy services administrative organization" means an entity operating within the State that contracts with independent pharmacies to conduct business on their behalf with third-party payers. A pharmacy services administrative organization may provide administrative services to pharmacies and negotiate and enter into contracts with third-party payers or pharmacy benefit managers on behalf of pharmacies. (h) A pharmacy benefit manager shall not include the following in a contract with a pharmacy provider: (1) a provision prohibiting the provider from informing a patient of a less costly alternative to a prescribed medication; or (2) a provision that prohibits the provider from dispensing a particular amount of a prescribed medication, if the pharmacy benefit manager allows that amount to be dispensed through a pharmacy owned or controlled by the pharmacy benefit manager, unless the prescription drug is subject to restricted distribution by the United States Food and Drug Administration or requires special handling, provider coordination, or patient education that cannot be provided by a retail pharmacy. (h-5) Unless required by law, a Medicaid managed care organization or pharmacy benefit manager administering or managing benefits on behalf of a Medicaid managed care organization shall not refuse to contract with a 340B entity or 340B pharmacy for refusing to accept less favorable payment terms or reimbursement methodologies when compared to similarly situated non-340B entities and shall not include in a contract with a 340B entity or 340B pharmacy a provision that: (1) imposes any fee, chargeback, or rate adjustment that is not similarly imposed on similarly situated pharmacies that are not 340B entities or 340B pharmacies; (2) imposes any fee, chargeback, or rate adjustment that exceeds the fee, chargeback, or rate adjustment that is not similarly imposed on similarly situated pharmacies that are not 340B entities or 340B pharmacies; (3) prevents or interferes with an individual's choice to receive a prescription drug from a 340B entity or 340B pharmacy through any legally permissible means; (4) excludes a 340B entity or 340B pharmacy from a pharmacy network on the basis of whether the 340B entity or 340B pharmacy participates in the 340B drug discount program; (5) prevents a 340B entity or 340B pharmacy from using a drug purchased under the 340B drug discount program so long as the drug recipient is a patient of the 340B entity; nothing in this Section exempts a 340B pharmacy from following the Department's preferred drug list or from any prior approval requirements of the Department or the Medicaid managed care organization that are imposed on the drug for all pharmacies; or (6) any other provision that discriminates against a 340B entity or 340B pharmacy by treating a 340B entity or 340B pharmacy differently than non-340B entities or non-340B pharmacies for any reason relating to the entity's participation in the 340B drug discount program. A provision that violates this subsection in any contract between a Medicaid managed care organization or its pharmacy benefit manager and a 340B entity entered into, amended, or renewed after July 1, 2022 shall be void and unenforceable. In this subsection (h-5): "340B entity" means a covered entity as defined in 42 U.S.C. 256b(a)(4) authorized to participate in the 340B drug discount program. "340B pharmacy" means any pharmacy used to dispense 340B drugs for a covered entity, whether entity-owned or external. (i) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prohibit a pharmacy benefit manager from requiring the same reimbursement and terms and conditions for a pharmacy provider as for a pharmacy owned, controlled, or otherwise associated with the pharmacy benefit manager. (j) A pharmacy benefit manager shall establish and implement a process for the resolution of disputes arising out of this Section, which shall be approved by the Department. (k) The Department shall adopt rules establishing reasonable dispensing fees for fee-for-service payments in accordance with guidance or guidelines from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 103-593, eff. 6-7-24; 104-27, eff. 1-1-26 .)