Alabama 2025 Regular Session

Alabama House Bill HB79 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	HB79INTRODUCED
2	2	Page 0
3	3	HB79
4	4	BWRBQ4J-1
5	5	By Representative Brown
6	6	RFD: Health
7	7	First Read: 04-Feb-25
8	8	PFD: 06-Jan-25
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14	14	6 BWRBQ4J-1 09/30/2024 JC (L)JC 2024-2024
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16	16	PFD: 06-Jan-25
17	17	SYNOPSIS:
18	18	Existing law prohibits the State Board of
19	19	Medical Examiners and the Medical Licensure Commission
20	20	from taking action against the license of a physician
21	21	when the physician recommends or prescribes a medical
22	22	treatment that is off-label.
23	23	This bill would give pharmacists the same
24	24	protection by prohibiting the Board of Pharmacy from
25	25	suspending, revoking, or refusing to renew the license
26	26	of a pharmacist who either recommends the off-label use
27	27	of a drug or fills a prescription for the off-label use
28	28	of a drug.
29	29	This bill would prohibit any entity that
30	30	furnishes pharmacy services from terminating or taking
31	31	adverse action against a pharmacist for recommending
32	32	the off-label use of a drug or filling a prescription
33	33	for the off-label use of a drug, and would provide a
34	34	civil action for a pharmicist who is so terminated or
35	35	disciplined.
36	36	This bill would also prohibit a pharmacy
37	37	benefits manager from taking any action against a
38	38	pharmacist or his or her employing pharmacy in
39	39	retaliation for recommending, or filling a prescription
40	40	for, the off-label use of a drug.
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68	68	28 HB79 INTRODUCED
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70	70	A BILL
71	71	TO BE ENTITLED
72	72	AN ACT
73	73	Relating to off-label medical treatment; to prohibit
74	74	the State Board of Pharmacy or an employer from taking action
75	75	against a pharmacist who recommends the off-label use of a
76	76	drug or who dispenses a drug for off-label use on the
77	77	prescription of a health care professional; to provide a cause
78	78	of action against an employer who takes action against a
79	79	pharmacist for recommending or dispensing a drug for off-label
80	80	use; and to prohibit a pharmacy benefits manager from
81	81	retaliating against a pharmacist or the employing pharmacy for
82	82	recommending or dispensing a drug for off-label use.
83	83	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
84	84	Section 1. (a) For the purposes of this section, the
85	85	following terms have the following meanings:
86	86	(1) BOARD. The State Board of Pharmacy.
87	87	(2) EMPLOYER. Any person that owns or manages a
88	88	pharmacy as defined in Section 34-23-1, Code of Alabama 1975,
89	89	and which retains, supervises, or terminates pharmacists.
90	90	(3) HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL. Any of the following
91	91	individuals:
92	92	a. A physician licensed to practice medicine in this
93	93	state.
94	94	b. An assistant to physician licensed by the State
95	95	Board of Medical Examiners of the State of Alabama.
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123	123	56 HB79 INTRODUCED
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125	125	Board of Medical Examiners of the State of Alabama.
126	126	c. A certified registered nurse practitioner or a
127	127	certified nurse midwife certified by the Board of Nursing.
128	128	(4) LICENSE. The same meaning as defined in Section
129	129	34-23-1, Code of Alabama 1975.
130	130	(5) OFF-LABEL MEDICAL TREATMENT. The use of a drug,
131	131	biological product, or device approved by the United States
132	132	Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in any manner other than
133	133	the use approved by the FDA.
134	134	(b) The board may not revoke, suspend, fail to renew,
135	135	or take any other adverse action against a pharmacist's
136	136	license based solely on either of the following:
137	137	(1) The pharmacist's recommendation of an off-label
138	138	medical treatment for the treatment of a disease, condition,
139	139	or symptom.
140	140	(2) The pharmacist's dispensing of a prescription of an
141	141	off-label medical treatment which is ordered by a health care
142	142	professional.
143	143	(c)(1) An employer may not terminate, discipline, or
144	144	take any other adverse action against an employee pharmacist
145	145	based solely on either of the following:
146	146	a. The pharmacist's recommendation of an off-label
147	147	medical treatment for the treatment of a disease, condition,
148	148	or symptom.
149	149	b. The pharmacist's dispensing of a prescription of an
150	150	off-label medical treatment which is ordered by a health care
151	151	professional.
152	152	(2)a. A pharmacist who is terminated or suffers adverse
153	153	action by his or her employer for recommending or dispensing
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181	181	84 HB79 INTRODUCED
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183	183	action by his or her employer for recommending or dispensing
184	184	an off-label medical treatment under subdivision (1) may bring
185	185	an action for injunctive relief against the employer in the
186	186	circuit court of the county in which the off-label medical
187	187	treatment was recommended or dispensed.
188	188	b. The court in such an action may award injunctive
189	189	relief, including ordering reinstatement of the pharmacist to
190	190	his or her job position, back pay, costs of the action, and
191	191	reasonable attorney fees.
192	192	Section 2. A pharmacy benefits manager or a PBM
193	193	affiliate, both as defined in Section 27-45A-3, Code of
194	194	Alabama 1975, may not penalize or retaliate against a
195	195	pharmacist or a pharmacist's employing pharmacy for
196	196	recommending or dispensing a prescription of an off-label
197	197	medical treatment as defined in Section 1, including, but not
198	198	limited to, any of the following:
199	199	(1) Canceling or refusing to renew a contract.
200	200	(2) Taking legal action for breach of contract.
201	201	(3) Taking any action otherwise prohibited under
202	202	Chapter 45A of Title 27, Code of Alabama 1975.
203	203	(4) Initiating an audit under The Pharmacy Audit
204	204	Integrity Act, Article 8, Chapter 23, Title 34, Code of
205	205	Alabama 1975.
206	206	Section 3. This act shall not apply to the prescribing,
207	207	administration, or dispensing of any controlled substances, as
208	208	defined in Section 20-2-2, Code of Alabama 1975.
209	209	Section 4. This act shall become effective on October
210	210	1, 2025.
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