WEST virginia legislature
2022 second extraordinary session
Introduced
Senate Bill 2010
By Senators Baldwin, Caputo, Geffert, Lindsay, Romano, Stollings, and Woelfel
[Introduced April 25, 2022]
A BILL to amend and reenact §5-16-7g of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §33-59-1 of said code, all relating to health care; reducing copayments; adding coverage for devices under specified insurance plans including the Public Employees Insurance Agency; and permitting testing equipment to be purchased without a prescription under specified insurance plans.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
CHAPTER 5. GENERAL POWERS AND AUTHORITY OF THE GOVERNOR, SECRETARY OF STATE, AND ATTORNEY GENERAL; BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS; MISCELLANEOUS AGENCIES, COMMISSIONS, OFFICES, PROGRAMS, ETC.
ARTICLE 16. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES INSURANCE ACT.
§5-16-7g. Coverage for prescription insulin drugs.
(a) A policy, plan, or
contract that is issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2020 July
1, 2023, shall provide coverage for prescription insulin
drugs pursuant to this section.
(b) For the purposes of this subdivision, “device” means a blood glucose test strip, glucometer, continuous glucometer, lancet, lancing device, or insulin syringe use to cure, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or treat diabetes or low blood sugar, but does not include an insulin pump.
(c) For the purposes of this subdivision, “insulin pump” means a portable device that injects insulin at programmed intervals in order to regulate blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.
(b) (d) For the purposes of this subdivision,
“prescription insulin drug” means a prescription drug that contains insulin and
is used to treat diabetes, and includes at
least one type of insulin in all of the following categories:
(1) Rapid-acting;
(2) Short-acting;
(3) Intermediate-acting;
(4) Long-acting;
(5) Pre-mixed insulin products;
(6) Pre-mixed insulin/GLP-1 RA products; and
(7) Concentrated human regular insulin.
(c) (e) (1) Cost sharing for a 30-day
supply of a covered prescription insulin drug shall may not
exceed $100 $35 for a 30-day supply of a covered prescription
insulin, regardless of the quantity or type of prescription insulin used to
fill the covered person’s prescription needs.
(2) Cost sharing for a device may not exceed $100 for a 30-day supply.
(3) Cost sharing for an insulin pump may not exceed $250, and is limited to one insulin pump purchase every 2 years.
(d) (f) Nothing in this section prevents the
agency from reducing a covered person’s cost sharing by an amount greater than
the amount specified in this subsection.
(e) (g) No contract between the agency or its
pharmacy benefits manager and a pharmacy or its contracting agent shall contain
a provision: (i) authorizing the agency’s pharmacy benefits manager or the
pharmacy to charge; (ii) requiring the pharmacy to collect; or (iii) requiring
a covered person to make a cost-sharing payment for a covered prescription
insulin drug in an amount that exceeds the amount of the cost-sharing payment
for the covered prescription insulin drug established by the agency as provided
in subsection (c) (e) of this section.
(f) (h) The agency shall provide coverage for the
following equipment and supplies for the treatment or management of diabetes
for both insulin-dependent and noninsulin-dependent persons with diabetes and
those with gestational diabetes: Blood blood glucose monitors,
monitor supplies, insulin, injection aids, syringes, insulin infusion devices,
pharmacological agents for controlling blood sugar, and orthotics.
(g) (i) The agency shall provide coverage for
diabetes self-management education to ensure that persons with diabetes are
educated as to the proper self-management and treatment of their diabetes,
including information on proper diets. Coverage for self-management education
and education relating to diet shall be
provided by a health care practitioner who has been appropriately trained as
provided in §33-53-1(k) §33-59-1(k) of this code.
(h) (j) The education may be provided by a health
care practitioner as part of an office visit for diabetes diagnosis or
treatment, or by a licensed pharmacist for instructing and monitoring a patient
regarding the proper use of covered equipment, supplies, and medications, or by
a certified diabetes educator or registered dietitian.
(i) (k) A pharmacy benefits manager, a health plan,
or any other third party that reimburses a pharmacy for drugs or services shall
not reimburse a pharmacy at a lower rate and shall not assess any fee,
charge-back, or adjustment upon a pharmacy on the basis that a covered person’s
costs sharing is being impacted.
Chapter 33. INSURANCE.
ARTICLE 59. REQUIRED COVERAGE FOR HEALTH INSURANCE.
§33-59-1. Cost sharing in prescription insulin drugs.
(a) Findings. –
(1) It is estimated that over 240,000 West Virginians are diagnosed and living with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and another 65,000 are undiagnosed;
(2) Every West Virginian with type 1 diabetes and many with type 2 diabetes rely on daily doses of insulin to survive;
(3) The annual medical cost related to diabetes in West Virginia is estimated at $2.5 billion annually;
(4) Persons diagnosed with diabetes will incur medical costs approximately 2.3 times higher than persons without diabetes;
(5) The cost of insulin has increased astronomically, especially the cost of insurance copayments, which can exceed $600 per month. Similar increases in the cost of diabetic equipment and supplies, and insurance premiums, have resulted in out-of-pocket costs for many West Virginia diabetics in excess of $1,000 per month;
(6) National reports indicate as many as one in four type 1 diabetics underuse, or ration, insulin due to these increased costs. Rationing insulin has resulted in nerve damage, diabetic comas, amputation, kidney damage, and even death; and
(7) It is important to enact policies to reduce the costs for West Virginians with diabetes to obtain life-saving and life-sustaining insulin.
(b) As used in this section:
(1) “Cost-sharing payment” means the total amount a covered person is required to pay at the point of sale in order to receive a prescription drug that is covered under the covered person’s health plan.
(2) “Covered person” means a policyholder, subscriber, participant, or other individual covered by a health plan.
(3) “Device” means a blood glucose test strip, glucometer, continuous glucometer, lancet, lancing device, or insulin syringe used to cure, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or treat diabetes or low blood sugar, but does not include an insulin pump.
(3) (4) “Health plan” means any health benefit
plan, as defined in §33-16-1a(h) of this code, that provides coverage for a
prescription insulin drug.
(5) “Insulin pump” means a portable device that injects insulin at programmed intervals in order to regulate blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.
(4) (6) “Pharmacy benefits manager” means an
entity that engages in the administration or management of prescription drug
benefits provided by an insurer for the benefit of its covered persons.
(5) (7) “Prescription insulin drug” means a
prescription drug that contains insulin and is used to treat diabetes.
(c) Each health plan shall cover at least one type of insulin in all the following categories:
(1) Rapid-acting;
(2) Short-acting;
(3) Intermediate-acting;
(4) Long-acting;
(5) Pre-mixed insulin products;
(6) Pre-mixed insulin/GLP-1 RA products; and
(7) Concentrated human regular insulin.
(d) Notwithstanding the
provisions of §33-1-1 et seq. of this code, an insurer subject to
§33-15-1 et seq., §33-16-1 et seq., §33-24-1 et seq.,
§33-25-1 et seq., and §33-25A-1 et seq. of this code which issues
or renews a health insurance policy on or after July 1, 2020 January
1, 2023, shall provide coverage for prescription insulin drugs
pursuant to this section.
(e) (1) Cost sharing
for a 30-day supply of a covered prescription insulin drug shall may
not exceed $100 $35 for a 30-day supply of a covered prescription
insulin, regardless of the quantity or type of prescription insulin used to
fill the covered person’s prescription needs.
(2) Cost sharing for a device may not exceed $100 for a 30-day supply.
(3) Cost sharing for an insulin pump may not exceed $250, and is limited to one insulin pump purchase every 2 years.
(f) Nothing in this section prevents an insurer from reducing a covered person’s cost sharing to an amount less than the amount specified in subsection (e) of this section.
(g) No contract between an
insurer subject to §33-15-1 et seq., §33-16-1 et seq., §33-24-1 et
seq., §33-25-1 et seq., and §33-25A-1 of this code or its pharmacy
benefits manager and a pharmacy or its contracting agent shall contain a
provision: (i) Authorizing the insurer’s pharmacy benefits manager or the
pharmacy to charge; (ii) requiring the pharmacy to collect; or (iii) requiring
a covered person to make a cost-sharing payment for a covered prescription
insulin drug in an amount that exceeds the amount of the cost-sharing payment
for the covered prescription insulin drug established by the insurer pursuant
to subsection (e) of this code section.
(h) An insurer subject to
§33-15-1 et seq., §33-16-1 et seq., §33-24-1 et seq.,
§33-25-1 et seq., and §33-25A-1 of this code shall provide coverage for
the following equipment and supplies for the treatment and/or management of
diabetes for both insulin-dependent and noninsulin-dependent persons with
diabetes and those with gestational diabetes: Blood blood
glucose monitors, monitor supplies, insulin, injection aids, syringes, insulin
infusion devices, pharmacological agents for controlling blood sugar, and
orthotics.
(i) An insurer subject to §33-15-1 et seq., §33-16-1 et seq., §33-24-1 et seq., §33-25-1 et seq., and §33-25A-1 of this code shall include coverage for diabetes self-management education to ensure that persons with diabetes are educated as to the proper self-management and treatment of their diabetes, including information on proper diets.
(j) All health care plans
must offer an appeals process for persons who are not able to take one or more
of the offered prescription insulin drugs noted in subsection (c) of this code
section. The appeals process shall be provided to covered persons in writing
and afford covered persons and their health care providers a meaningful
opportunity to participate with covered persons health care providers.
(k) Diabetes
self-management education shall be provided by a health care practitioner who
has been appropriately trained. The Secretary of the Department of Health and
Human Resources shall promulgate legislative rules to implement training
requirements and procedures necessary to fulfill provisions of this subsection.
Provided, That any rules promulgated by the secretary shall be
done after consultation with the Coalition for Diabetes Management, as
established in §16-5Z-1 et seq. of this code
(l) A pharmacy benefits
manager, a health plan, or any other third party that reimburses a pharmacy for
drugs or services shall not reimburse a pharmacy at a lower rate and shall
may not assess any fee, charge-back, or adjustment upon a pharmacy on
the basis that a covered person’s costs sharing is being impacted.
(m) A prescription is not required to obtain a blood testing kit for ketones.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to reduce the copay cap on insulin and devices.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.