Senate tees up drug formulary 'transparency' plan

The Senate on Thursday queued up for passage a bill that would require insurance companies and health maintenance organizations to report all of the changes made to their drug formularies during a policy year.

The proposal (SB 1180) would require HMOs and health insurance companies to report the changes to the state Office of Insurance Regulation. And the measure would require insurance companies and HMOs to notify customers and their physicians, at least 60 days in advance, when there is a change in a formulary affecting a drug the insured person is currently taking.

The bill the Senate discussed on Thursday is dramatically different than the original version, which would have banned health insurers and health maintenance organizations from removing covered drugs from their formularies except during renewal periods.

Sen. Debbie Mayfield, a Rockledge Republican who sponsored the proposal, has called her plan a "transparency and accountability" measure aimed at allowing lawmakers and insurance regulators to better understand how health insurance companies change their formularies and how those changes affect consumers.

A similar House bill (1363) moved through one committee but has stalled.

The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.