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House Appropriations reviews H.577 to set up Vermont prescription drug discount card; $50,000 implementation request
Summary
The House Appropriations Committee walked through H.577, which would let the State Treasurer join a multi‑state prescription drug discount card program, require insurers/PBMs to credit cash purchases toward deductibles, and fund initial outreach with $50,000 in FY2027. No committee vote was taken; fiscal language will be finalized after Town Meeting.
The House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 24 reviewed H.577, an act to establish a Vermont Prescription Drug Discount Card Program that would let the State Treasurer cooperate with other states, territories and nongovernmental organizations to negotiate lower pharmacy counter prices.
Jen Carby of the Office of Legislative Counsel led a page‑by‑page walkthrough of the bill and described two committee amendments: a 'strike‑all' from the House Healthcare Committee and a Ways and Means amendment that removes a standalone special fund and directs any program monies into an existing Financial Literacy and Economic Empowerment Trust Fund. Carby said the Ways and Means amendment also removes prior draft language that would have allowed the treasurer to set participant fees.
The bill directs the Treasurer’s Office to administer a program—committee materials alternately transcribe the vendor name as 'AwayRx' or 'RareX'—that partners with a pharmacy benefit manager, identified in committee testimony as Navitus, to negotiate lower prices for consumers at the pharmacy counter. Peter…
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