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4/3/2023 Media Advisory: Prescription drug bills to be heard in Senate
STATE HOUSE – The Senate Health and Human Services Committee meets tomorrow for hearings on bills related to prescription drugs.

The committee is scheduled to meet tomorrow, Tuesday, April 3, at 2 p.m. in the Senate lounge on the second floor of the State House. Among the bills scheduled for hearings are:
  • 2023-S 0098 — Sponsored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Louis P. DiPalma (D-Dist. 12, Middletown, Little Compton, Newport, Tiverton), this bill would instruct the health insurance commissioner to create an index for allowable costs for the 250 most costly prescription drugs, based on their wholesale acquisition costs and their prices in Canada. Health plans would be prohibited from provided drugs for higher prices.
  •  2023-S 0281 — This bill sponsored by Sen. Melissa A. Murray (D-Dist. 24, Woonsocket, North Smithfield) would prohibit private insurers from charging copays higher than $25, with no deductible, for a 30-day supply of equipment or supplies for insulin administration or glucose monitoring or equipment designed to last more than 30 days.
  • 2023-S 0292 — Sponsored by Sen. Bridget Valverde (D-Dist. 35, North Kingstown, East Greenwich, South Kingstown), this bill would enable pharmacists to prescribe tobacco cessation drug therapies, subject to certain conditions.
The meeting will be televised by Capitol Television on Cox Communications, channels 15 and 61 for high definition; i3Broadband (formerly Full Channel) on channel 15; and Verizon, on channel 34. Livestreaming is available at https://www.rilegislature.gov/CapTV/Pages/default.aspx.   
Written testimony must be submitted via email to slegislation@rilegislature.gov  by 1 p.m. Tuesday in order for it to be provided to the members of the committee at the hearing and to be included in the meeting records.
 



For more information, contact:
Meredyth R. Whitty, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-1923