Bringing Transparency and Access to Drug Formularies
A panel of experts will convene at Western University of Health Sciences Sept. 8, 2014 to talk about how residents can select the best health insurance for their prescription medication needs.
California Sen. Norma Torres, the California Biotechnology Foundation (CBF) and the California Partnership for Access to Treatment (CPAT) are holding a complimentary luncheon seminar to discuss health insurance exchange drug formularies in California.
The seminar is designed to educate health care advocates, providers and consumers about insurance plan options, and provide tools for more transparency to help patients select the plan that best meets their health and budget needs.
The seminar will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 8, 2014 in Trendle Hall, Rodney P. Wineberg Center at WesternU, 309 E. Second St., Pomona, Calif. 91766. Parking is available in Lot #17 (click here to view a map).
Sen. Torres authored Senate Bill 1052 to help consumers more easily shop for health plans based on their prescription drug needs. SB 1052 was approved by the state Assembly Aug. 25, 2014 and will now be considered by the Senate.
“Patients should be focusing on their health, not on sorting through packets of insurance paperwork,” Torres said. “We need a simpler way to know what plans cover which prescription drugs and at what cost. This bill will facilitate this process by allowing patients to more easily identify which plans cover their prescription drug needs, then be able to make apples to apples comparisons between those plans.”
SB 1052 would require a health care service plan or health insurer that provides prescription drug benefits to post those formularies on its Internet website and update that posting monthly. The bill will require the Department of Insurance and Department of Managed Health Care to jointly develop a standard formulary template by January 1, 2017, and would require plans and insurers to use that template to display formularies, as specified. The bill is sponsored by the American Cancer Society and a coalition of consumer and patient groups.
Click here for the full text of SB 1052. More information visit: www.senate.ca.gov/torres.
Please contact John Anderson at john@cerrell.com or 323-466-3445 with questions, or to RSVP.
