A. The Oklahoma Insurance Department shall review and approve retail pharmacy network access for all pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) to ensure compliance with Section 4 of this act.

B. A PBM, or an agent of a PBM, shall not:

1. Cause or knowingly permit the use of advertisement, promotion, solicitation, representation, proposal or offer that is untrue, deceptive or misleading;

2. Charge a pharmacist or pharmacy a fee related to the adjudication of a claim, including without limitation a fee for:

a.the submission of a claim,

b.enrollment or participation in a retail pharmacy network, or

c.the development or management of claims processing services or claims payment services related to participation in a retail pharmacy network;

3. Reimburse a pharmacy or pharmacist in the state an amount less than the amount that the PBM reimburses a pharmacy owned by or under common ownership with a PBM for providing the same covered services. The reimbursement amount paid to the pharmacy shall be equal to the reimbursement amount calculated on a per-unit basis using the same generic product identifier or generic code number paid to the PBM-owned or PBM-affiliated pharmacy;

4. Deny a pharmacy the opportunity to participate in any pharmacy network at preferred participation status if the pharmacy is willing to accept the terms and conditions that the PBM has established for other pharmacies as a condition of preferred network participation status;

5. Deny, limit or terminate a pharmacy's contract based on employment status of any employee who has an active license to dispense, despite probation status, with the State Board of Pharmacy;

6. Retroactively deny or reduce reimbursement for a covered service claim after returning a paid claim response as part of the adjudication of the claim, unless:

a.the original claim was submitted fraudulently, or

b.to correct errors identified in an audit, so long as the audit was conducted in compliance with Sections 356.2 and 356.3 of Title 59 of the Oklahoma Statutes; or

7. Fail to make any payment due to a pharmacy or pharmacist for covered services properly rendered in the event a PBM terminates a pharmacy or pharmacist from a pharmacy benefits manager network.

C. The prohibitions under this section shall apply to contracts between pharmacy benefits managers and pharmacists or pharmacies for participation in retail pharmacy networks.

1. A PBM contract shall:

a.not restrict, directly or indirectly, any pharmacy that dispenses a prescription drug from informing, or penalize such pharmacy for informing, an individual of any differential between the individual's out-of-pocket cost or coverage with respect to acquisition of the drug and the amount an individual would pay to purchase the drug directly, and

b.ensure that any entity that provides pharmacy benefits management services under a contract with any such health plan or health insurance coverage does not, with respect to such plan or coverage, restrict, directly or indirectly, a pharmacy that dispenses a prescription drug from informing, or penalize such pharmacy for informing, a covered individual of any differential between the individual's out-of-pocket cost under the plan or coverage with respect to acquisition of the drug and the amount an individual would pay for acquisition of the drug without using any health plan or health insurance coverage.

2. A pharmacy benefits manager's contract with a participating pharmacist or pharmacy shall not prohibit, restrict or limit disclosure of information to the Insurance Commissioner, law enforcement or state and federal governmental officials investigating or examining a complaint or conducting a review of a pharmacy benefits manager's compliance with the requirements under the Patient's Right to Pharmacy Choice Act.

3. A pharmacy benefits manager shall establish and maintain an electronic claim inquiry processing system using the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs' current standards to communicate information to pharmacies submitting claim inquiries.

Added by Laws 2019, c. 426, § 5, eff. Nov. 1, 2019.