A fight over regulating out-of-state pharmacies in Georgia boiled over Thursday in the state Senate, with customers who buy their prescription medicines online caught in the middle.
National insurance and health care benefits companies including CVS Caremark and Express Scripts had backed committee changes to House Bill 965, but the state Senate stripped them before passage. The language that was removed essentially protected those companies’ business from new rules proposed by the state Board of Pharmacy over so-called “nonresident pharmacy permits.”
It became an issue after last year, when the Georgia Legislature gave the board authority to regulate pharmacies located out of state. Without such permits, the companies could not ship medicine to Georgia.
The companies, of course, don’t want to jump through that hoop. They already seek permits under separate parts of Georgia law and argue they also must answer to regulations in the states where they are based. Plus, they say, any additional cost for them to do business likely gets taken out of customers’ pockets.
“Without this legislation, these companies would be subjected to additional and unnecessary regulatory burdens with no value,” Express Scripts spokesman Brian Henry said. The company as of January runs the state’s employee health benefits plan.
The state Board of Pharmacy has not taken an official position on the changes, and by policy does not comment on pending legislation.
But opponents of the changes who have sided with the board said the new rules relate mainly to home delivery of Schedule II drugs, many of which are considered addictive or dangerous. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration website lists hydromorphone (Dilaudid), meperidine (Demerol), oxycodone (OxyContin), fentanyl, Dexedrine, Adderall and Ritalin as examples. The state Board of Pharmacy wants recipients of such drugs to have to sign for them.
Health and Human Services Chairwoman Renee Unterman, R-Buford, had backed the changes in support of the companies, but was joined by barely more than a dozen colleagues in a vote to keep them intact. It was not clear whether the companies would still pursue the changes this legislative session; lawmakers meet only two days next week before adjourning for the year.
As it stands now, out-of-state pharmacies will have to abide by the Georgia Board of Pharmacy’s regulations. What that will mean for consumers remains unclear.
The stripped version of HB 965 — which otherwise creates a “medical amnesty” for people who seek help for a drug or alcohol overdose — passed on a 50-3 vote. It now heads back to the House for final approval.
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