S.F. 2261 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 514C.5A Prescription drug 1 medication synchronization. 2 1. A carrier, as defined in section 513B.2, that provides 3 prescription drug coverage through a policy or contract 4 delivered, issued for delivery, continued, or renewed on or 5 after January 1, 2017, shall offer medication synchronization 6 services that allow for the alignment of refill dates for a 7 covered individual’s prescription drugs that are a covered 8 benefit. Such carrier shall comply with all of the following: 9 a. Shall not deny coverage and shall prorate the cost 10 sharing rate for a prescription drug that is a covered benefit 11 and is dispensed by a network pharmacy in less than the 12 standard refill amount, if the covered individual requests 13 both enrollment in a medication synchronization program and a 14 less-than-standard refill amount for the purposes of medication 15 synchronization. 16 b. Shall accept early refill and short fill requests for 17 prescription drugs using the submission clarification and 18 message codes adopted by the national council for prescription 19 drug plans or alternative codes specified by the carrier. 20 c. Shall pay the ingredient cost and the dispensing fee 21 in accordance with the contracted rate for each submitted 22 claim, regardless of the days’ supply specified in the claim 23 submitted. 24 2. For purposes of this section, “medication 25 synchronization” means the coordination of medication refills 26 for a patient taking two or more medications for a chronic 27 condition that are dispensed by a single network pharmacy to 28 facilitate the synchronization of an individual’s medications 29 for the purpose of improving medication adherence. 30 -1- SF 2261 (2) 86 pf/nh/jh 1/ 1