0001| HOUSE BILL 339 | 0002| 43rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 1997 | 0003| INTRODUCED BY | 0004| JOSE R. ABEYTA | 0005| | 0006| | 0007| | 0008| | 0009| | 0010| AN ACT | 0011| RELATING TO HEALTH; ENACTING THE PRESCRIPTION DRUG FAIR PRICING | 0012| ACT; PROVIDING FOR EQUAL ACCESS TO PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES. | 0013| | 0014| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO: | 0015| Section 1. SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the | 0016| "Prescription Drug Fair Pricing Act". | 0017| Section 2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Prescription Drug | 0018| Fair Pricing Act: | 0019| A. "charitable health care provider" means a health | 0020| care provider that is exempt from federal taxation under | 0021| Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; | 0022| B. "covered transaction" means any sale of a | 0023| prescription drug to a purchaser doing business in this state | 0024| in which a manufacturer, whether by direct sale to a purchaser | 0025| or through a contractual arrangement implemented by one or more | 0001| wholesalers, negotiates, establishes, determines or otherwise | 0002| controls the price, terms or conditions of the sale, including | 0003| rebates, free merchandise, samples and similar trade | 0004| concessions; | 0005| C. "drug" or "prescription drug" means a drug or | 0006| device that may be dispensed only upon a prescription pursuant | 0007| to provisions of the New Mexico Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act; | 0008| D. "manufacturer" or "seller" means a person, other | 0009| than a wholesaler, that trades in prescription drugs for | 0010| resale, either directly or through a wholesaler, to purchasers | 0011| in this state; | 0012| E. "purchaser" means a person doing business in | 0013| this state that engages in selling or dispensing prescription | 0014| drugs directly to consumers but does not include: | 0015| (1) the federal department of veterans' | 0016| affairs, the federal department of defense, entities covered | 0017| under Section 256b(a)(4) of the federal Public Health Service | 0018| Act and any other federal, state or local government program | 0019| that directly purchases or procures prescription drugs; | 0020| (2) hospitals that purchase prescription drugs | 0021| for their inpatients' own use, but not for resale or outpatient | 0022| use; and | 0023| (3) charitable health care providers, except | 0024| those that offer, issue or administer a health insurance policy | 0025| or an employee benefit plan; and | 0001| F. "wholesaler" means a person other than a | 0002| manufacturer that sells prescription drugs to purchasers. | 0003| Section 3. PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICE DISCRIMINATION | 0004| PROHIBITED.-- | 0005| A. A seller that offers prescription drugs in a | 0006| covered transaction to a purchaser shall, during the same or | 0007| substantially the same time period, offer the same or | 0008| substantially the same terms and conditions for the drugs in a | 0009| covered transaction to any other purchaser. This provision | 0010| applies to: | 0011| (1) transactions in which a manufacturer sells | 0012| to a purchaser through a contractual arrangement with one or | 0013| more wholesalers; | 0014| (2) purchase prices for similar volume | 0015| purchases; and | 0016| (3) rebates, free merchandise, samples and | 0017| similar trade concessions. | 0018| B. The provisions in Subsection A of this section | 0019| do not prohibit a seller from offering or providing a discount, | 0020| provided the discount is made available to all purchasers on | 0021| equal terms. This includes allowing discounts for: | 0022| (1) economies or efficiencies based on volume | 0023| purchases; | 0024| (2) opportunities available to purchasers on | 0025| equal terms through market share movement agreements; | 0001| (3) prompt payment; and | 0002| (4) prompt delivery. | 0003| C. No seller shall provide discounts to any | 0004| purchaser based on the class of trade to which the purchaser | 0005| belongs. | 0006| D. The provisions of this section apply to any | 0007| covered transaction for the purchase of prescription drugs | 0008| delivered to a purchaser or purchaser's facility for sale to | 0009| consumers in the state. | 0010| E. Nothing in this section is intended to require a | 0011| single price for prescription drugs or to eliminate existing | 0012| discount programs that conform with the provisions of this | 0013| section. | 0014| Section 4. ENFORCEMENT.-- | 0015| A. A seller that violates a provision of the | 0016| Prescription Drug Fair Pricing Act shall pay a civil penalty of | 0017| not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) and not more than | 0018| fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for each violation. The | 0019| attorney general shall bring an action in district court to | 0020| enforce the provisions of the Prescription Drug Fair Pricing | 0021| Act. | 0022| B. Any purchaser may bring a civil action against | 0023| any seller to recover damages suffered as a result of a | 0024| violation of a provision of the Prescription Drug Fair Pricing | 0025| Act. Proof of price discrimination shall constitute prima | 0001| facie evidence that damages have been sustained. When damages | 0002| are proved, the court shall award the purchaser three times the | 0003| actual damages caused by the seller's violation of the | 0004| Prescription Drug Fair Pricing Act. | 0005|  |