128th MAINE LEGISLATURE
LD 1407 LR 1195(02)
An Act Regarding Prescription Drug Step Therapy
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment " "
Committee: Insurance and Financial Services
Fiscal Note Required: Yes
             
Fiscal Note
Potential future biennium cost - All Funds
Fiscal Detail and Notes
The bill has an effective date of January 1, 2019, so only contracts executed after January 1, 2019 will be required to meet the coverage in this bill. Thus, the State Employee Health Plan (SEHP) will have no General Fund appropriations or Highway Fund allocations in the current biennium. Drug step therapy is the practice of beginning drug therapy for a medical condition with the most cost-effective and safest drug and progressing to other more costly or risky therapies only if necessary, with the goal of controlling costs and minimizing risks. This bill adds an exception process that must be clear, readily accessible and convenient to the patient and prescriber. This could lead to additional or longer lasting exceptions from the drug step therapy process, which could potentially increase costs in future bienniums for insurers, including the SEHP. However, there is not enough information available to identify a fiscal impact at this time.