What's happening
This bill requires New York Medicaid to establish programs allowing patients, providers, and pharmacists to synchronize prescription refills for chronic illness treatment.
Why it matters
Improves medication adherence and health outcomes. By allowing patients to pick up all their chronic illness medications at the same time, the bill aims to make it easier for people to take their medications as prescribed, reducing missed doses and improving disease management.
Reduces patient confusion and pharmacy visits. Synchronizing prescription refills cuts down on the number of separate trips patients need to make to the pharmacy, minimizing logistical challenges—especially important for those with mobility issues, transportation barriers, or complex medication regimens.
Removes financial and administrative barriers. The bill ensures that patients are not penalized with extra cost-sharing or denied coverage for partial fills needed to sync medications, and pharmacies receive full dispensing fees for partial fills, supporting the economic viability of synchronization.
Protects against misuse and maintains clinical flexibility. Certain controlled substances are excluded from synchronization, reducing risk of abuse, and the bill clarifies that synchronization is not mandatory—allowing providers, pharmacists, and patients to decide what’s best on a case-by-case basis.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Sync Prescription Refills for Medicaid
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
12 Co-sponsors
1 Multi-sponsor
History
- Tabled
- Vetoed memo.243
- Delivered to governor
- Returned to assembly
- Passed senateVote 62–0
- 3rd reading cal.293
- Substituted for S3118A
- Referred to rules
- Delivered to senate
- Passed assembly
- Ordered to third reading rules cal.103
- Rules report cal.103
Show 6 earlier actions
- Reported
- Reported referred to rules
- Print number 2785a
- Amend and recommit to ways and means
- Reported referred to ways and means
- Referred to health
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Sync Medicaid Prescriptions
Senate Floor Calendar · Sponsor Brad Hoylman-Sigal
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2785--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 25, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. GOTTFRIED, ABINANTI, PHEFFER AMATO, SOLAGES, JAFFEE, GARBARINO, RAIA, STECK, SEAWRIGHT, ASHBY, BYRNE -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. HEVESI -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health -- reported and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to synchronization of multiple prescriptions
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 9 of section 367-a of the social services law is amended by adding a new paragraph (i) to read as follows:
(i)(i) The department of health shall establish a program for synchronization of medications when it is agreed among the recipient, a provider and a pharmacist that synchronization of multiple prescriptions for the treatment of a chronic illness is in the best interest of the patient for the management or treatment of a chronic illness provided that the medications:
(A) are covered by the department of health pursuant to this title;
(B) are used for treatment and management of chronic conditions that are subject to refills;
(C) are not a schedule II controlled substance, nor a schedule III controlled substance that contains hydrocodone;
(D) meet all prior authorization criteria specific to the medications at the time of the synchronization request;
(E) are of a formulation that can be effectively split over required short fill periods to achieve synchronization; and
(F) do not have quantity limits or dose optimization criteria or requirements that would be violated in fulfilling synchronization.
(ii) The department of health shall not deny coverage for the dispensing of a medication by a pharmacy for a partial supply when it is for
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03580-02-9
A. 2785--A 2
the purpose of synchronizing the patient's medications. When applicable to permit synchronization, the department of health shall allow a pharmacy to override any denial codes indicating that a prescription is being refilled too soon for the purposes of medication synchronization.
(iii) To permit synchronization, the department of health shall apply a prorated daily cost-sharing rate to any medication dispensed by a pharmacy pursuant to this section.
(iv) The dispensing fee paid to a pharmacy contracted to provide services pursuant to this section for a partial supply associated with a medication synchronization shall be paid in full and shall not be prorated.
(v) The requirement of this paragraph applies only once for each prescription drug subject to medication synchronization except when either of the following occurs:
(I) the prescriber changes the dosage or frequency of administration of the prescription drug subject to a medication synchronization; or
(II) the prescriber prescribes a different drug.
(vi) Nothing in this paragraph shall be deemed to require health care practitioners and pharmacists to synchronize the refilling of multiple prescriptions for a recipient.
§ 2. Subdivision 4 of section 364-j of the social services law is amended by adding a new paragraph (w) to read as follows:
(w)(i) The department of health or a managed care organization contracted to provide services pursuant to this section shall establish a program for synchronization of medications when it is agreed among the recipient, a provider and a pharmacist that synchronization of multiple prescriptions for the treatment of a chronic illness is in the best interest of the patient for the management or treatment of a chronic illness provided that the medications:
(A) are covered by Medicaid services or a managed care organization contracted to provide services pursuant to this chapter;
(B) are used for treatment and management of chronic conditions that are subject to refills;
(C) are not a schedule II controlled substance, nor a schedule III controlled substance that contains hydrocodone;
(D) meet all prior authorization criteria specific to the medications at the time of the synchronization request;
(E) are of a formulation that can be effectively split over required short fill periods to achieve synchronization; and (F) do not have quantity limits or dose optimization criteria or requirements that would be violated in fulfilling synchronization.
(ii) The department of health or a managed care organization contracted to provide services under this section shall not deny coverage for the dispensing of a medication by a pharmacy for a partial supply when it is for the purpose of synchronizing the patient's medications. When applicable to permit synchronization, the department of health or a managed care organization contracted to provide services under this title shall allow a pharmacy to override any denial codes indicating that a prescription is being refilled too soon for the purposes of medication synchronization.
(iii) To permit synchronization, the department of health or a managed care organization contracted to provide services pursuant to this title shall apply a prorated daily cost-sharing rate to any medication dispensed by a pharmacy pursuant to this section.
(iv) The dispensing fee paid to a pharmacy contracted to provide services pursuant to this section for a partial supply associated with a
A. 2785--A 3
medication synchronization shall be paid in full and shall not be prorated.
(v) The requirement of this paragraph applies only once for each prescription drug subject to medication synchronization except when either of the following occurs:
(A) the prescriber changes the dosage or frequency of administration of the prescription drug subject to a medication synchronization; or
(B) the prescriber prescribes a different drug.
(vi) Nothing in this paragraph shall be deemed to require health care practitioners and pharmacists to synchronize the refilling of multiple prescriptions for a covered individual.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become a law. The amendments to subdivision 9 of section 367-a of the social services law, made by section one of this act, shall not affect the expiration of that subdivision, and shall expire therewith.
The amendments to section 364-j of the social services law, made by section two of this act, shall not affect the repeal of that section, and shall be deemed repealed therewith. Effective immediately, the commissioner of health shall make regulations and take other actions reasonably necessary to implement this act on that date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.