As Introduced
136th General Assembly
Regular Session S. B. No. 160
2025-2026
Senators Liston, Johnson
A B I L L
To enact section 3902.65 of the Revised Code
regarding prescription drugs and medication
switching.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 3902.65 of the Revised Code be
enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 3902.65. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Interchangeable biological product" and "generically
equivalent drug" have the same meanings as in section 3715.01 of
the Revised Code.
(2) "Pharmacy" has the same meaning as in section 4729.01
of the Revised Code.
(3) "Rate of inflation" has the same meaning as in section
107.032 of the Revised Code.
(4) "Wholesale acquisition cost" has the same meaning as
in 42 U.S.C. 1395w-3a.
(B) Notwithstanding section 3901.71 of the Revised Code,
but subject to divisions (C) and (D) of this section, with
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17 S. B. No. 160 Page 2
As Introduced
regard to health benefit plans amended, issued, or renewed on or
after the effective date of this section, a health plan issuer
shall not do any of the following during a plan year:
(1) Increase a covered person's burden of cost-sharing
with respect to a drug;
(2) Move a drug to a more restrictive tier of a health
benefit plan's formulary;
(3) Remove a drug from a health benefit plan's formulary
unless one of the following occurred:
(a) The United States food and drug administration issued
a statement about the drug calling into question the clinical
safety of the drug.
(b) The drug manufacturer notified the United States food
and drug administration of a permanent discontinuance or
interruption of the manufacture of the drug as required by 21
U.S.C. 356c.
(c) The drug manufacturer has removed the drug from sale
in the United States.
(4) Limit or reduce coverage of a drug with respect to a
covered person in any other way, including subjecting it to a
prior authorization requirement.
(C) This section shall not be construed to do any of the
following:
(1) Prevent a health plan issuer from adding a drug to its
formulary;
(2) Prevent a health plan issuer from removing a drug from
its formulary if the drug manufacturer has removed the drug from
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44 S. B. No. 160 Page 3
As Introduced
sale in the United States;
(3) Prevent a health care provider from prescribing
another drug covered by the health benefit plan that the
provider considers medically appropriate for the covered person;
(4) In the case of a prescribed drug for which a
generically equivalent drug or interchangeable biological
product is available, prevent any of the following:
(a) A pharmacist from substituting the generically
equivalent drug or interchangeable biological product for the
prescribed drug in accordance with section 4729.38 of the
Revised Code;
(b) A health plan issuer from requiring a covered person
to use the generically equivalent drug or interchangeable
biological product instead of the prescribed drug, even when the
equivalent or product becomes available during a plan year;
(c) A covered person from using the generically equivalent
drug or interchangeable drug product instead of the prescribed
drug, even when the equivalent or product becomes available
during a plan year.
(5) Prevent a pharmacist from substituting for a
prescribed epinephrine autoinjector another epinephrine
autoinjector pursuant to section 4729.382 of the Revised Code.
(D) If, at any point during a plan year, the wholesale
acquisition cost for a drug increases by more than five per cent
plus the rate of inflation, as compared to the average wholesale
acquisition cost for the previous plan year, division (C) of
this section does not apply to that drug for the remainder of
the plan year.
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72 S. B. No. 160 Page 4
As Introduced
(E) A violation of this section shall be considered an
unfair and deceptive practice in the business of insurance for
the purposes of section 3901.21 of the Revised Code.
73
74
75