An Act To Allow a Self-pay Patient To Choose between Generic and Brand-name Medications

Sec. 1. 32 MRSA §13781, 2nd ¶,  as amended by PL 2003, c. 384, §1 and c. 689, Pt. B, §6, is further amended to read:

Any Except with regard to a patient who is paying for a drug with the patient's own resources, any pharmacist receiving a prescription in which no handwritten check mark ( ) is found in the box provided shall substitute a generic and therapeutically equivalent drug for the drug specified on the prescription if the substituted drug is distributed by a business entity doing business in the United States that is subject to suit and the service of legal process in the United States and the price of the substituted drug does not exceed the price of the drug specified by the practitioner; except that, when the cost of a prescription is to be reimbursed under the MaineCare program pursuant to Title 22, chapter 855, the pharmacist shall substitute a generic and therapeutically equivalent drug only when the Department of Health and Human Services has determined that the substitute drug would be a more cost-effective alternative than the drug prescribed by the practitioner. With regard to a patient who is paying for a drug with the patient’s own resources, a pharmacist shall inquire about the patient's preference for either the brand-name drug or generic and therapeutically equivalent drug and dispense the drug that the patient prefers.

Sec. 2. 32 MRSA §13781, 3rd ¶,  as amended by PL 2003, c. 384, §1 and c. 689, Pt. B, §6, is further amended to read:

If Except with regard to a patient who is paying for a drug with the patient's own resources, if a written prescription issued by a practitioner in this State does not contain the box described in this section, a pharmacist shall substitute a generic and therapeutically equivalent drug for the drug specified on the prescription if the substituted drug is distributed by a business entity doing business in the United States that is subject to suit and the service of legal process in the United States and the price of the substituted drug does not exceed the price of the drug specified by the practitioner, unless a practitioner has handwritten on the prescription form, along with the practitioner's signature, "dispense as written," "DAW," "brand," "brand necessary" or "brand medically necessary"; except that, when the cost of a prescription is to be reimbursed under the MaineCare program pursuant to Title 22, chapter 855, the pharmacist shall substitute a generic and therapeutically equivalent drug only when the Department of Health and Human Services has determined that the substitute drug would be a more cost-effective alternative than the drug prescribed by the practitioner. With regard to a patient who is paying for a drug with the patient’s own resources, a pharmacist shall inquire about the patient's preference for either the brand-name drug or generic and therapeutically equivalent drug and dispense the drug that the patient prefers.

summary

This bill allows a patient who pays for prescription drugs to choose between a brand-name drug and a generic and therapeutically equivalent drug.