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Corrections seeks permission to use brand-name pricing deals to lower drug costs; committee advances bill
Summary
The Department of Corrections told lawmakers that allowing the department to accept manufacturer pricing on name-brand drugs could lower its pharmaceutical costs and remove outdated recordkeeping requirements; committee voted to advance the bill.
The New Hampshire Department of Corrections asked the House Executive Departments and Administration Committee to give the department authority to accept manufacturer price agreements and use name-brand drugs when they are the lower-cost option under negotiated deals.
Jane Graham, strategic communications administrator at the Department of Corrections, and Ben Carbone, chief pharmacist, testified that the department currently cannot always take advantage of manufacturer pricing offers that can make a name-brand drug less costly than generics. "Allowing the department to directly negotiate with drug manufacturers provides the state with the opportunity to reduce pharmaceutical costs," Graham said. The department also asked to remove obsolete handwritten-note requirements in statute to reflect its current electronic records process.
Committee members asked technical questions about biologics and biosimilars, how biologic products are prepared and whether the corrections pharmacy can handle on-site compounding. Graham said DOC dispenses medications in-house and generally administers them with DOC staff; biologics that require compounding or specialized preparation may require off-site administration.
Members also asked why Medicaid references were removed from certain lines of the bill. DOC witnesses explained the department does not bill Medicaid for incarceration-period medications; Medicaid coverage typically does not apply while a person is incarcerated, so those references were removed as cleanup from older statute language.
The committee debated but ultimately voted to move the bill forward. Several members noted the bill was department-requested, budget-neutral and modernizes pharmacy practice while preserving clinical oversight; Representative Lamb and others said clarifying deletion of Medicaid citations and adding biosimilars language could be accomplished by amendment if needed.
The committee recorded an "ought to pass" recommendation and approved the motion by roll call; the clerk recorded the vote and the measure was placed on the committee's consent calendar.
