Representative Lee Yancey, Chairman of the committee and the lawmaker who introduced a bill to this effect during the 2023 legislative session, said the current system, where insurance providers can dictate where the drugs are purchased, needs to be examined.
"What we're trying to do is give patients a choice," Yancey said. "We're saying that an insurance company cannot dictate where the patient gets the medicine. It doesn't require them not to use where they say, but they have other options as well."
The bill, if passed, would prohibit insurers from penalizing patients with extra fees or higher co-pays if they decide to go with a vendor that isn’t the insurer's preferred one.
Those against insurers being able to control these specialty drug purchases say the current system does not allow for needed flexibility if a treatment change is needed. They also say it can lead to drugs being damaged while being transported to the patient's hospital from other cities or states.
Brad Somers, Executive Director of Pharmacy Services at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, says it also cuts out the people who should be able to make these decisions.
"Part of the challenge right now is that in this entire process, neither the patient nor a clinical advisor on the treatment team has any say so in where the product comes from," Somers said. "That's what needs to be fixed."
Insurers argue that hospital pharmacies charge more for these drugs and that being able to choose preferred vendors saves them and patients money.
Yancey says that ultimately the disagreement between the two sides boils down to a financial issue, but that isn't his concern.
"I'm not so much interested in a turf battle between insurance and pharmacy, but what I want to know is what's best for the consumer, what's best for the cancer patient," Yancey said.
The bill will likely be taken up during the 2024 legislative session.
