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PUBLIC LAWS OF MAINE
Second Special Session of the 121st

CHAPTER 667
S.P. 736 - L.D. 1890

An Act To Ensure Disclosure of Prescription Drug Prices

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

     Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §2698-B is enacted to read:

§2698-B. Actual price disclosure and certification

     1. Quarterly report. A manufacturer of prescription drugs dispensed in this State under a health program directed or administered by the State shall, on a quarterly basis, report by National Drug Code the following pharmaceutical pricing criteria to the commissioner for each of its drugs:

     2. Calculation. The calculation of average wholesale price and wholesale acquisition cost must be the net of all volume discounts, prompt payment discounts, charge-backs, short-dated product discounts, cash discounts, free goods, rebates and all other price concessions or incentives provided to a purchaser that result in a reduction in the ultimate cost to the purchaser.

     3. Description of methodology. When reporting the average wholesale price, wholesale acquisition cost, average manufacturer price and best price, a manufacturer of prescription drugs dispensed in this State shall also include a detailed description of the methodologies by which the prices were calculated.

     4. Certification. When a manufacturer of prescription drugs dispensed in this State reports the average wholesale price, wholesale acquisition cost, average manufacturer price or best price, the president or chief executive officer of the manufacturer shall certify to the department, on a form provided by the commissioner, that the reported prices are accurate.

     5. Confidentiality. Except as provided in this subsection, all information provided to the commissioner by a manufacturer of prescription drugs under this section is confidential and may not be disclosed by any person or by the department to any person without the consent of the manufacturer. Disclosure may be made by the department to an entity providing services to the department under this section. Disclosure may be ordered by a court for good cause shown or made in a court filing under seal unless or until otherwise ordered by a court. Nothing in this subsection limits the Attorney General's use of civil investigative demand authority under the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act to investigate violations of this section.

     6. Violation. A violation of this section is a violation of Title 5, section 207 and must be enforced by the Attorney General pursuant to Title 5, section 209.

     7. Funding restriction. The department's costs for implementing this section must be met through the use of money that the Attorney General has acquired as a result of consumer protection litigation involving pharmaceutical pricing or practices. General Fund funding may not be used for the purposes of this section.

     Sec. 2. Contingent effective date; delayed reporting. When the Attorney General acquires funds as a result of consumer protection litigation involving pharmaceutical pricing or practices and the Attorney General designates these funds as being available for the implementation of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, section 2698-B, the Attorney General shall submit a letter to the Commissioner of Human Services that informs the commissioner of these facts. That section of this Act that enacts Title 22, section 2698-B takes effect 30 days after the commissioner receives this letter, except that section 2698-B may not take effect before January 1, 2005. Manufacturers of prescription drugs subject to the provisions of section 2698-B must begin the submission of quarterly reports as required by that section at the end of the first full calendar quarter after the effective date of section 2698-B.

See title page for effective date, unless otherwise indicated.

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