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Senate tightens 'dispense as written' rules, requires documented medical necessity for overrides
Summary
Senate amends SB 42 to clarify dispense-as-written exceptions and add a requirement that prescribers document any override as medically necessary in the patient's medical file; SB 42 passes as amended and is referred to the House.
SALT LAKE CITY — Lawmakers amended and passed Senate Bill 42 on Jan. 26 to clarify how prescribers may override a preferred drug list (PDL) and to add a documentation requirement for any medical-necessity override.
Senator Kilpack described an amendment to avoid unintentionally overriding state generic-substitution law and to require reporting on the frequency of PDL overrides. Senator Christiansen offered a companion amendment to specify that an override for medical necessity must be documented in the patient’s medical file.
The Senate suspended the rule to allow a verbal amendment exceeding 10 words, inserted language — as explained on the floor — that reads in substance: provided that the medical necessity for the override is documented in the patient's medical file, and voters approved the amended bill by roll call. Sponsors said the reporting provision will allow oversight of how often preferred-drug lists are overridden and guard against abuse, while preserving medically necessary exceptions.
Vote: The Senate recorded 28 yes, 0 no and 1 absent on final passage of SB 42 as amended; the measure was referred to the House for its further action.
What happens next: The House will receive the amended bill for concurrence; the reporting elements and specific cross-references to state code (the floor cited subsection references) will be subject to legislative office review and fiscal/implementation analysis.
