Highlights 77th Texas Legislature - Senate

___ HEALTH AND HUMAN
ERVICES/Regulatory
UMAN SERVICES
77 th Texas Legislature
Requires the Board of Nurse Examiners to appoint a task force to review and make recommendations
regarding the provision of health maintenance tasks to persons with functional disabilities in independent
living environments.
Creating the Interagency Council on Pharmaceuticals Bulk Purchasing - H.B. 915
by Representative Gray, et al.
Senate Sponsor: Senator Moncrief
Creates and sets out the composition of the Interagency Council on Pharmaceuticals Bulk Purchasing
(council), term of presiding officer, and compensation of members.
Requires the council to develop procedures that member agencies must follow in purchasing
pharmaceuticals. Authorizes a member agency to elect not to follow the council's procedures if the agency
can purchase the pharmaceuticals for a lower price than through the council. Such an agency must report
to the council the pharmaceuticals’ purchase price and the name of the seller.
Requires the council to designate one member agency as the central purchasing agency for purchasing
pharmaceuticals. Requires the council to use existing distribution networks to distribute pharmaceuticals.
Requires the council to monitor the progress of the demonstration project for certain medications and
related services established by S.B. 1156, enacted by the 77th Legislature, and make only
recommendations consistent with a prescribed medical regime for those medications.
Authorizes the council to enter into agreements with a local governmental entity to purchase
pharmaceuticals for the local governmental entity.
Requires the council to develop procedures for disclosing information relating to the prices that
manufacturers or wholesalers charge for pharmaceuticals by category of pharmaceutical. The council may
not disclose information that identifies a specific manufacturer or wholesaler or the prices charged by a
specific manufacturer or wholesaler for a specific pharmaceutical.
Requires drug manufacturers for drugs sold in Texas to file with the Texas Department of Health (TDH) the
average manufacturer price for the drug and the price that each wholesaler in Texas pays the manufacturer
to purchase the drug. This information must be filed annually or more frequently as determined by the
department.
Provides that, on TDH’s request, a person engaging in the wholesale distribution of drugs in this state must
file with TDH information showing the actual price at which the distributor sells a particular drug to a retail
pharmacy. TDH must adopt rules to implement this provision.
Authorizes TDH and the attorney general to investigate a manufacturer or distributor to determine the
accuracy of such information and the attorney general may take action to enforce theses provisions. TDH
must report this information to the council.
Senate Research Center 160