(a) Effective January 1, 2020, there is established a pilot project to assess the impact of health care service plan and pharmacy benefit manager prohibitions on the dispensing of certain amounts of prescription drugs by network retail pharmacies. The provisions of subdivision (b) shall apply to pharmacy providers located in the Counties of Riverside and Sonoma.

(b) Pursuant to the pilot project, a health care service plan shall not prohibit, or permit any delegated pharmacy benefit manager to prohibit, a pharmacy provider from dispensing a particular amount of a prescribed medication if the plan or pharmacy benefit manager allows that amount to be dispensed through a pharmacy owned or controlled by the plan or pharmacy benefit manager, unless the prescription drug is subject to restricted distribution by the federal Food and Drug Administration or requires special handling, provider coordination, or patient education that cannot be provided by a retail pharmacy.

(c) This section shall not be construed to prohibit a health care service plan or pharmacy benefit manager from requiring the same reimbursement and terms and conditions for a pharmacy network provider as for a pharmacy owned or controlled by the health care service plan or pharmacy benefit manager.

(d) This section shall not be construed to prohibit differential cost sharing designed to encourage or discourage the use of mail-order pharmacy services or preferred pharmacies.

(e) On or before July 1, 2020, health care service plans subject to this section shall report annually to the Department of Managed Health Care information and data relating to changes, if any, to costs and utilization of prescription drugs attributable to the prohibition of contract terms in subdivision (b). The department shall solicit and receive any additional information relevant to changes in costs or utilization attributable to the pilot project from other interested stakeholders. The department shall summarize data received pursuant to this subdivision and provide the summary to the Governor and health policy committees of the Legislature on or before December 31, 2022.

(f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2023, and as of that date is repealed.

(Added by Stats. 2018, Ch. 905, Sec. 3. (AB 315) Effective January 1, 2019. Repealed as of January 1, 2023, by its own provisions.)