Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §254-B is enacted to read:

§254-B.__Maine resident low-cost prescription drug program

The department shall conduct a program to provide low-cost prescription drugs to residents of this State.

1.__Agreement.__A drug manufacturer who sells prescription drugs in this State may enter into a rebate agreement with the department; the agreement must be modeled after Section 1927 of the United States Social Security Act and include the requirement that the manufacturer make rebate payments to the State each calendar quarter or according to a schedule established by the department.

2.__Rebate amount. The rebate amount required from a manufacturer to the State is equivalent to the rebate amount calculated under the Medicaid Rebate Program pursuant to 42 United States Code, Section 1396r-8.

3.__Discount to residents of the State.__Any retail pharmacy in the State that sells drugs covered by an agreement pursuant to subsection 1 shall discount the retail price of those drugs sold to residents of the State by the rebate amount pursuant to subsection 2, less the administrative costs of the program pursuant to subsection 6.

4.__Operation of program.__Retail pharmacies in the State shall submit claims to the department to verify the amount of discount due the resident.__The pharmacies shall charge residents of the State the current retail price charged by each pharmacy for that prescription drug to persons purchasing that drug who are not covered by insurance or 3rd-party payor plans, less the discount amount, pursuant to subsection 3.

The amount of the discount must be indicated on the resident's receipt.__On a weekly or biweekly basis, the pharmacy must be reimbursed by the department for drug discounts provided to residents of the State.__The department shall collect the necessary utilization data from the pharmacies submitting claims in order to comply with 42 United States Code, Section 1396r-8.

5.__Discrepancies in rebate amounts.__Discrepancies in rebate amounts must be resolved using the process established in this subsection.

A.__If there is a discrepancy in the manufacturer's favor between the amount claimed by a pharmacy or other business licensed to dispense prescription drugs in this State and