Legislation Updates

By Rosalin Preechakul, PharmD, BCPS, APh, Legal Affairs Chair

AB 2194 (Members Ward & Lee) Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians: Continuing Education: Cultural Competency

- Remove what can be a barrier to healthcare within the LGBTQ+ community

- Requiring at least 1 hour of the required 30 hours of CE per pharmacist renewing cycle (every two years) in cultural competency

- Require pharmacy technicians to submit satisfactory proof to the Board of Pharmacy that the applicant has successfully completed at least one hour of participation in a cultural competency course

AB 1797 (Weber) Immunization Registry

- Requires, instead of permits, a healthcare provider and specified entities to disclose certain information from a patient/client’s medical record to the local health departments (LHDs) operating county-wide or regional immunization information and reminder systems, and to the Department of Public Health (DPH)

- Includes a patient/client’s race and ethnicity in the existing list of information that must be disclosed by healthcare providers

- Expands the purpose for the use of information collected by and reported to immunization information systems to perform immunization status assessment of pupils, adults, and clients in a state of emergency (only applies if the school’s governing board or body has adopted a policy mandating COVID-19 immunization for school attendance and the school limits the use of data to verifying immunization status for this purpose). Sunsets these provisions on January 1, 2026. Recasts existing law effective January 1, 2026.

(Legislation Updates, cont.)

AB 1852 (Patterson) Health Facilities: Automated Drug Delivery Systems

AB 1949 (Low) Employees: Bereavement Leave

- Furnish use of automated drug delivery systems (ADDS), for pharmacy services to licensed hospice facilities

- Ensures that workers are entitled to take jobprotected, unpaid bereavement leave to mourn loss of immediate family members

- Guarantees workers up to 5 business days of unpaid leave

AB 2352 (Nazarian) Prescription Drug Coverage

- Requires health plan or insurer to furnish specific information about prescription drug upon request by enrollee/insured, or prescribing provider

- Prohibits health plan/insurer from restriction provider from sharing information furnished about the prescription drug (i.e. cash price of drug or penalizing provider for prescribing, administering, or ordering lower cost/ clinically-appropriate alternative)

AB 2942 (Daly) Prescription Drug Cost Sharing

- Requires health plan/insurer that provides prescription drug benefits and maintains 1+ drug formularies to furnish specific information about prescription drug upon request by enrollee/insured or provider

- Requires health plan/insurer to respond in real time to request and ensure information is current no later than one business day after change

- Prohibit health plan/insurer from restricting provider from sharing information furnished or penalizing provider for prescribing lower cost drug

SB 852 (Wiener) Prescription Drug Coverage

- Requires insurance companies to cover denied medication, a dose that patient has previously been prescribed or an optimized dose of previously prescribed medication, for duration of an appeals process

- Prohibits plans from seeking reimbursement if denial is sustained on appeal

- Clarifies California’s prohibition on nonmedical switching

(Legislation Updates, cont.)

SB 872 (Dodd) Pharmacies: Mobile Units

- Allows county, or city and county, to operate mobile pharmacy staffed by physician, pharmacist, and pharmacy technician to provide medications, vaccines, and related services to patients experiencing homelessness and provide similar services to vulnerable populations lacking access to health services

SB 923 (Wiener) Gender-Affirming Care

- Requires health plan/insurer to require its staff in direct contact with enrollees/insurees to complete approved evidence-based cultural competency training, as specified, for the purpose of providing trans-inclusive healthcare for individuals who identify as transgender, gender non-conforming, or intersex (TGI), and requires a health plan/ insurer by July 31, 2023

SB 1346 (Becker) Surplus Medication Collection and Distribution

- Increase access to no-cost prescriptions

- Allows any county-owned and operated health facility with existing pharmacy services to operate a voluntary drug repository and distribution program to distribute surplus medications to persons in need of financial assistance