§ 17B:27F-3 — Carrier, pharmacy benefits manager under contract, single maximum allowable cost list; prescription drug, source generic list, requirements.

3. a. A carrier, or a pharmacy benefits manager under contract with a carrier, shall use a single maximum allowable cost list to establish the maximum amount to be paid by a health benefits plan to a pharmacy provider for a generic drug or a brand-name drug that has at least one generic equivalent available. A carrier, or a pharmacy benefits manager under contract with a carrier, shall use the same maximum allowable cost list for each pharmacy provider. b. A maximum allowable cost may be set for a prescription drug, or a prescription drug may be allowed to continue on a maximum allowable cost list, only if: (1) The drug is listed as therapeutically and pharmaceutically equivalent or "A," "B," "NR," or "NA" rated in the Food and Drug Administration's most recent version of the Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations, commonly known as the "Orange Book;" and (2) The drug is available for purchase without limitations by all pharmacies in the State from national or regional wholesalers and is not obsolete or temporarily unavailable. c. A pharmacy benefits manager shall not penalize a pharmacist or pharmacy on audit if the pharmacist or pharmacy performs a generic substitution pursuant to the "Prescription Drug Price and Quality Stabilization Act," P.L.1977, c.240 (C.24:6E-1 et seq.). d. A carrier, or a pharmacy benefits manager under contract with a carrier, shall use the average wholesale price to establish the maximum payment for a brand-name drug for which a generic equivalent is not available or a prescription drug not included on a maximum allowable cost list. In order to use the average wholesale price of a brand-name drug or prescription drug not included on a maximum allowable cost list, a carrier, or a pharmacy benefits manager under contract with a carrier, shall use only one national drug pricing source during a calendar year, unless the original drug pricing source is no longer available. A carrier, or a pharmacy benefits manager under contract with a carrier, shall use the same national drug pricing source for each pharmacy provider and identify on its publicly accessible website the name of the national drug pricing source used to determine the average wholesale price of a prescription drug not included on the maximum allowable cost list. e. The amount paid by a carrier or a carrier's pharmacy benefits manager to a pharmacy provider under contract with the carrier or the carrier's pharmacy benefits manager for dispensing a prescription drug shall be the ingredient cost plus the dispensing fee less any cost-sharing amount paid by a covered person. The ingredient cost shall not exceed the maximum allowable cost or average wholesale price, as applicable, and shall be disclosed by a carrier's pharmacy benefits manager to the carrier. Only the pharmacy provider that dispensed the prescription drug shall retain the payment described in this subsection. L.2015, c.179, s.3; amended 2023, c.107, s.5.