Vermont S. 199: An act relating to a statutory definition of the term arbitrary

Bill Text

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VT LEG #385905 v.1
S.199 1
Introduced by Senators Lyons, Cummings, Gulick, Hardy, Harrison, Ram 2
Hinsdale and White 3
Referred to Committee on 4
Date: 5
Subject: Health; prescription drugs; cost-containment; State Treasurer; 6
Vermont Prescription Drug Discount Card Program 7
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to establish the 8
Vermont Prescription Drug Discount Card Program, to be administered by the 9
Office of the State Treasurer. 10
An act relating to establishing the Vermont Prescription Drug Discount 11
Card Program 12
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 13
Sec. 1. 18 V.S.A. chapter 91, subchapter 7 is added to read: 14
Subchapter 7. Vermont Prescription Drug Discount Card Program 15
§ 4691. VERMONT PRESCRIPTION DRUG DISCOUNT CARD 16
PROGRAM 17
(a) There is established the Vermont Prescription Drug Discount Card 18
Program, administered by the Office of the State Treasurer, for the purpose of 19
pooling prescription drug purchasing power with other U.S. states and 20

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VT LEG #385905 v.1
territories and nongovernmental organizations. The Program shall be made 1
available to all Vermont residents. 2
(b)(1) To further the purposes of the Program, the State Treasurer may 3
cooperate with other U.S. states and territories, regional consortia, or 4
nongovernmental organizations, or a combination of these, to pool prescription 5
drug purchasing power to: 6
(A) reduce prescription drug costs; 7
(B) negotiate discounts with prescription drug manufacturers; 8
(C) centralize prescription drug purchasing; and 9
(D) establish volume discount contracting. 10
(2) As used in subdivision (1)(D) of this subsection, “volume discount 11
contracting” means the negotiated purchase of a large quantity of a prescription 12
drug at a decreased cost. 13
(c) The Treasurer may require that reasonable fees be charged to defray 14
Program costs. Notwithstanding any provision of 32 V.S.A. § 603 to the 15
contrary, the amount and method of collection of any fee shall be determined 16
by the Treasurer based on actual costs. 17
(d) On or before January 15, 2028, and annually thereafter, the State 18
Treasurer shall submit a report to the House Committee on Health Care, the 19
Senate Committee on Health and Welfare, and the Governor detailing the 20
activities of the Program during the previous calendar year, including the 21

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VT LEG #385905 v.1
number of Vermont residents and pharmacies participating in the Program and 1
the amount of savings on prescription drug costs achieved. 2
§ 4692. VERMONT PRESCRIPTION DRUG DISCOUNT CARD 3
PROGRAM FUND 4
(a) The Vermont Prescription Drug Discount Card Program Fund is 5
established as a special fund to be administered by the State Treasurer to 6
support the Vermont Prescription Drug Discount Card Program established in 7
this subchapter. 8
(b) The Fund shall consist of: 9
(1) any monies appropriated to the Fund by the General Assembly; 10
(2) any monies transferred to the Fund from the federal government, 11
other State agencies, or other government source; 12
(3) any monies from the payment of fees or other monies due to the 13
Program; and 14
(4) any gifts, grants, or donations made to the Fund and any gifts, grants, 15
donations, or investments received by the Treasurer for the Program. 16
(c) The Treasurer shall credit to the Fund all interest earned on Fund 17
balances and any other income derived from the deposit and investment of 18
monies in the Fund. 19
(d) Any unexpended and unencumbered monies in the Fund at the end of a 20
fiscal year shall remain in the Fund. 21

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VT LEG #385905 v.1
Sec. 2. VERMONT PRESCRIPTION DRUG DISCOUNT CARD 1
PROGRAM; IMPLEMENTATION REPORT 2
On or before January 15, 2027, the State Treasurer shall report to the 3
General Assembly regarding implementation of the Vermont Prescription Drug 4
Discount Card Program established in 18 V.S.A. chapter 91, subchapter 7, as 5
added by Sec. 1 of this act, as of that date, including any recommendations for 6
improving the administration of the Program, any fees to be charged to 7
participants, and an estimate of the projected costs to the State in the event that 8
additional financial support is determined to be necessary to administer the 9
Program. 10
Sec. 3. VERMONT PRESCRIPTION DRUG DISCOUNT CARD 11
PROGRAM; EVALUATION AND START-UP FUNDING 12
In fiscal year 2027, the sum of $50,000.00 is appropriated from the General 13
Fund to the Office of the State Treasurer for the costs of developing and 14
implementing the Vermont Prescription Drug Discount Card Program as set 15
forth in this act. 16
Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE 17
This act shall take effect on July 1, 2026. 18