Utah resolution would require PEHP to show members estimated drug‑rebate value at point of sale
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Summary
A legislative concurrent resolution directs the Public Employees Benefit and Insurance Program (PEHP) to provide state health plan members the estimated value of pharmaceutical rebates at the point of sale, citing about $2.8 million in costs to high‑need members and a cost‑neutral funding requirement.
The Utah Legislature read a concurrent resolution directing the Public Employees Benefit and Insurance Program (PEHP) to provide state health plan members the estimated value of pharmaceutical rebates at the point of sale, the transcript shows.
The resolution, read into the record by an unidentified reader, frames the measure as a response to high out‑of‑pocket prescription costs faced by patients with significant health conditions and the way rebates are handled in the drug supply chain. The reading cites statutory context: "in accordance with Utah Code Section 49‑22‑201, the state participates in the public employees benefit and insurance program," and explains that rebates are paid by manufacturers to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) when a drug is dispensed.
Supporters of the resolution, as read in the record, argue that the current rebate flow shifts costs onto a smaller group of high‑need members. The reading states that "this financial burden amounts to about $2,800,000 in costs for those members that purchase rebate paying drugs," and that if spread across the entire state risk pool it would equal "about $3 and 81¢ per member per month." The resolution directs PEHP to give members the estimated value of rebates "in proportion to the members cost sharing responsibility for the drug, less any confirmed payment assistance that is available for reducing the members out of pocket costs."
The text also includes a cost‑neutrality provision: implementation must be cost neutral to the state by spreading costs across covered members, either by increasing the member premium share or by reducing the state's health savings account contribution. The reading concluded by instructing that a copy of the resolution be sent to PEHP.
A committee note at the start of the reading records that an interim committee "recommended this bill" and shows a committee vote line reading "vote: 8 voting for 0 voting against 7." The transcript does not list names with the vote tally or supply a resolution number. The resolution language in the transcript does not specify an effective date or implementation timeline.
Next steps are not recorded in the provided transcript excerpt; the final line in the reading directs that a copy of the resolution be sent to PEHP for consideration and any administrative follow‑up.
