§2870. Prohibited acts; unfair and deceptive trade practices

            A. A pharmacy benefit manager in Louisiana shall not:

            (1) Commit any unfair and deceptive trade practice prohibited by R.S. 22:1964(15).

            (2) Perform any act that violates the duties, obligations, and responsibilities imposed under the Louisiana Insurance Code on a pharmacy benefit manager.

            (3) Buy, sell, transfer, or provide personal healthcare or contact information of any beneficiary to any other party for any purpose with one exception. A pharmacy benefit manager may provide such information regarding beneficiaries of a health plan to that health plan provider if requested by the health plan provider.

            (4) Conduct or participate in spread pricing as defined in R.S. 22:1863(9) without providing the notice required by R.S. 22:1867.

            (5)(a) Directly or indirectly engage in patient steering to a pharmacy in which the pharmacy benefit manager maintains an ownership interest or control without making a written disclosure and receiving acknowledgment from the patient. The disclosure required by this Paragraph shall provide notice that the pharmacy benefit manager has an ownership interest in or control of the pharmacy, and that the patient has the right under the law to use any alternate pharmacy that they choose. The pharmacy benefit manager is prohibited from retaliation or further attempts to influence the patient, or treat the patient or the patient's claim any differently if the patient chooses to use the alternate pharmacy.

            (b) The provisions of this Paragraph shall not apply to employers, unions, associations, or other persons who employ, own, operate, control, or contract directly with a pharmacy or pharmacist for the purpose of managing or controlling prescription costs paid for the benefit of an employee or member or those covered by the employee or member's plan, or when the persons contract with a pharmacy benefit manager to steer employees or members to pharmacists or pharmacies which the person owns, operates, or controls.

            (6)(a) Penalize a beneficiary or provide an inducement to the beneficiary for the purpose of getting the beneficiary to use specific retail, mail order pharmacy, or another network pharmacy provider in which a pharmacy benefit manager has an ownership or controlling interest or that has an ownership or controlling interest in a pharmacy benefit manager.

            (b) For purposes of this Paragraph, "inducement" means the providing of financial incentives, including variations in premiums, deductibles, copayments, or coinsurance.

            (c) The provisions of this Paragraph shall not apply to employers, unions, associations, or other persons who employ, own, operate, control, or contract directly with a pharmacy or pharmacist for the purpose of managing or controlling prescription costs paid for the benefit of an employee or member or those covered by the employee or member's plan, or when the persons contract with a pharmacy benefit manager to steer employees or members to pharmacists or pharmacies which the person owns, operates, or controls.

            (7) Retroactively deny or reduce a claim of a pharmacist or pharmacy for payment or demand repayment of all or part of a claim after the claim has been approved by the pharmacy benefit manager as authorized by R.S. 22:1856.1.

            (8) Reimburse a local pharmacist or local pharmacy, as defined in R.S. 46:460.36(A), less than the amount it reimburses chain pharmacies, mail-order pharmacies, specialty pharmacies, or affiliates of the pharmacy benefit manager for the same drug or device or for the same pharmacy service in this state.

            (9) Fail to update prices as required by R.S. 22:1857.

            (10)(a) Fail to honor maximum allowable cost (MAC) prices as set forth in R.S. 22:1863 et seq.

            (b) A pharmacy benefit manager shall not require a pharmacist or pharmacy to purchase drugs from any particular wholesaler. However, if a pharmacy benefit manager recommends or provides a wholesaler, then that wholesaler must be willing and able to honor the pharmacy benefit manager's MAC price, ship the order, and have receipt of the order within two business days with no additional charge to the pharmacist.

            (c) The wholesaler with the lowest price, which is listed as the MAC price, is not obligated to sell or ship to a nonmember pharmacist or pharmacy. If the wholesaler chooses not to sell the drug to the pharmacist or pharmacy, then the MAC price set by the pharmacy benefit manager must be adjusted to the price available to the pharmacist or pharmacy through another wholesaler.

            (11) Fail to meet the payment standards established in R.S. 22:1856.

            (12) Fail to provide detailed remittance advice to pharmacists and pharmacies in compliance with R.S. 22:1856.

            (13)(a) Fail to pay any state or local sales tax imposed on any drug, device, or pharmacy services or to remit the sales tax to the appropriate pharmacist or pharmacy for the tax proceeds to be forwarded to the sales tax authority.

            (b) A pharmacy benefit manager who does not pay the sales tax shall be liable to the taxing authority for the tax, interest, penalties, and any other fees or costs imposed by law for failure to pay sales taxes.

            (c) No pharmacy benefit manager shall deduct the taxes from any amount due to a pharmacist or pharmacy for a drug, device, or pharmacy service or charge or pay anyone a fee or surcharge for paying any sales tax or remitting any sales tax proceeds to a pharmacist or pharmacy if that fee or surcharge would be imposed directly or indirectly on the pharmacist or pharmacy.

            (d) All pharmacy benefit managers who pay any out-of-state pharmacist or pharmacy for drugs or devices shipped to a beneficiary in this state or for pharmacy services rendered to a beneficiary which is taxable in this state shall remit the tax directly to the appropriate taxing authority.

            (e) Any pharmacist or pharmacy who does not receive sales tax proceeds from a pharmacy benefit manager for any drug, device, or pharmacy service which is subject to sales taxes shall have no responsibility for payment of the taxes if the pharmacist or pharmacy provides written notification to the appropriate taxing authority, the Department of Insurance, and the Board of Pharmacy of the pharmacy benefit manager's failure to remit the sales taxes at the time the next sales tax return is due to be filed.

            (f) State or local sales taxes and other applicable state-imposed taxes or fees shall be considered as part of the allowable cost and shall be included in the claim submitted by a pharmacist or pharmacy.

            (14) Restrict early refills on maintenance drugs to an amount less than seven days for a prescription of at least a thirty-day supply. However, at the direction of the Louisiana Department of Health, for purposes of administering the Medicaid pharmacy benefit program, a pharmacy benefit manager may apply a more restrictive early refill policy without violating the provisions of this Paragraph.

            (15) Require a beneficiary to follow a plan's step therapy protocol if the prescribed drug is on the health plan's prescription drug formulary, the beneficiary has tried the step therapy required prescription drug while under his current or previous health plan, and the provider has submitted a justification and supporting clinical documentation that such prescription drug was discontinued due to lack of efficacy or effectiveness, diminished effect, or an adverse effect or event.

            (16) Delay a decision on a request for authorization to dispense a prescription drug for more than seventy-two hours, or twenty-four hours in exigent circumstances in which the patient, in the opinion of the prescribing provider, pharmacy, or pharmacist submitting the authorization request, is suffering from a health condition that may seriously jeopardize the patient's life, health, or ability to regain maximum function. A request for authorization shall include relevant data or appropriate documentation to render a decision on a request for authorization.

            (17) Exploit prescription drug information obtained from beneficiaries for monetary gain or economic power over beneficiaries, pharmacists, or pharmacies.

            (18) Sell, exchange, or use in any manner prescription drug information regarding a beneficiary obtained through a beneficiary's use of a prescription for purposes of marketing, solicitation, consumer steering, referral, or any other practice or act, except as otherwise provided for in this Section, that provides the pharmacy benefit manager or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries economic power or control over pharmacists or pharmacies or interferes in the free choice of a beneficiary.

            (19) Engage in drug repackaging and markups. A pharmacy benefit manager that owns or controls a mail-order pharmacy shall not allow the mail-order pharmacy to repackage drugs and sell the repackaged items at higher prices than the original average wholesale price unless beneficiaries who may buy the repackaged drugs are informed in writing that the drugs have been repackaged and are being sold at the higher price.

            (20) Operate in Louisiana without either being registered with and in good standing with the Louisiana secretary of state to do business in Louisiana or being licensed by and in good standing with the commissioner of insurance, as provided by this Chapter.

            B.(1) The commission of any of the acts or any combination of acts prohibited by this Section shall be considered an unfair method of competition and unfair practice or act in accordance with the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, R.S. 51:1401 et seq., if the violations are committed or performed with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the private right of action created by R.S. 51:1409 shall not apply to this Section.

            (2) For purposes of this Section, a violation shall be considered to have occurred each time a prohibited act is committed.

            (3) Each day that a pharmacy benefit manager operates without being registered with and in good standing with the secretary of state to do business in Louisiana or without being licensed by and in good standing with the commissioner of insurance, as provided by this Chapter, shall be considered a separate violation.

            C.(1) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to interfere with or violate a consumer's right to know where the consumer may have access to the lowest cost drugs, whether a consumer is utilizing insurance or other third-party reimbursement or not.

            (2) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to interfere with the requirement that consumers receive notice of changes to pharmacy networks, such as the inclusion of new pharmacies or removal of existing pharmacies from networks.

            Acts 2019, No. 124, §3, eff. July 1, 2020.