HB 24-1438

House Bill 24-1438, which has been signed into law in Colorado, aims to make prescription drugs more affordable for residents by enforcing stricter requirements on manufacturers of insulin and epinephrine auto-injectors. The bill shifts the responsibility from insurance departments to the state board of pharmacy for creating application forms and promoting programs that help people get emergency supplies of these critical medications at reduced costs. It also allows the attorney general to enforce compliance with these affordability programs and sets fines for manufacturers who do not follow the rules. This law is now effective, meaning it will start impacting how insulin and epinephrine are made more accessible and affordable in Colorado starting June 3, 2024.

Official Summary

The act makes it a deceptive trade practice under the "Colorado Consumer Protection Act" for a manufacturer of insulin to fail to comply with the manufacturer requirements under the insulin affordability program and for the emergency supply of prescription insulin. The act also authorizes the attorney general to enforce the epinephrine auto-injector affordability program (epinephrine program). For the insulin affordability program, the state board of pharmacy (board), rather than the division of insurance (division) and the department of health care policy and financing (department), shall develop an application form for the insulin affordability program, make the application form available on the board's website, provide the application form to pharmacies and health-care providers and others, and promote the availability of the program to Coloradans. For the emergency supply of prescription insulin, the board, rather than the division and the department, shall develop an application form for individuals seeking an emergency supply of prescription insulin, make the application form available to the public, and promote the availability of the emergency supply of prescription insulin to Coloradans. The act also changes the amount of a fine for a manufacturer's failure to comply with the requirements of the insulin affordability program or with the requirements for the emergency supply of prescription insulin, or for failure to comply with the epinephrine program, to the amount and frequency of the fine that is permitted under the "Colorado Consumer Protection Act". For the epinephrine program, the act requires all manufacturers subject to the epinephrine program to participate in the epinephrine program. The board shall develop a program application form and make the form available to individuals, pharmacies, health-care providers, and health facilities through the board's website, with each manufacturer required to link to the epinephrine program on the manufacturer's website. The board shall also provide information to pharmacies about the epinephrine program that includes a quick response (QR) code to allow individuals to access the epinephrine program's application online, including how to submit the application, and information necessary for a dispensing pharmacy to successfully submit an electronic claim for reimbursement of the cost to dispense an epinephrine auto-injector to an individual, above any required cost sharing by the individual. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 3, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

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