N.Y.C. Admin. Code § L.L. 2005/019: L.L. 2005/019

Enactment date: 3/7/2005

Int. No. 172-A

By Council Members Baez, the Speaker (Council Member Miller), Rivera, Clarke, Dilan, Fidler, Foster, Gentile, Gioia, Katz, Koppell, Martinez, McMahon, Monserrate, Nelson, Quinn, Recchia, Seabrook, Stewart, Yassky, Gerson, Gennaro, Jackson, Liu, Vann, Gonzalez, Avella, Weprin, Perkins, and the Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum)

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring the department of health and mental hygiene to develop a prescription drug discount card program.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. National spending for prescription drugs has continued to rise dramatically over the last decade. It is estimated that Americans spent more than $180 billion on prescription drugs in 2003, and that such spending could reach as much as $250 billion by 2006. According to a recent report from the Association of Chain Drug Stores, brand-name retail drug prices jumped nearly $10 per prescription between 2002 and 2003.

The rising cost of prescription drugs has become particularly problematic as the number of uninsured individuals has continued to increase. According to a 2004 report by Families USA, approximately 81.8 million people - including one out of three of those under the age of 65 - were without health insurance in the United States for all or part of 2002 and 2003. In New York State, the proportion of individuals without insurance is even higher than the national average, with more than one out of three people under the age of 65 without health insurance for all or part of 2002 and 2003. In New York City, it is estimated that 1.8 million people had no health insurance in 2002, and two-thirds of the uninsured were employed. According to the New York City Community Health Survey, during 2003, an estimated 908,000 people chose not to fill one or more prescriptions because of cost.

Accordingly, the New York City Council finds that a New York City prescription drug discount card program should be made available to all New York City residents regardless of age, income, immigration status or health insurance coverage status, and without any barriers, such as a fee for the card or a registration process, to participation in the program.

It is the intent of the Council that the discounts under such program will pass to the beneficiary - the consumer - at the point of sale. Based on the experience of prescription drug discount cards in other jurisdictions, the Council expects that consumers will receive a substantial discount on prescription drugs under the New York City program. For example, under the Nassau County prescription drug card program, users of the NassauRx card benefited from drug prices that were up to 40% lower than the lowest commonly available retail price. Furthermore, it is also the intent of the Council that a New York City prescription drug discount card be used for purchases at pharmacies, through mail order and over the Internet. It is not the intent of the Council that the New York City prescription drug discount card be used in conjunction with any other discount prescription drug card during the same transaction or that this chapter be construed to require prescription drug manufacturers to participate in such program or to negotiate with any administrator regarding such program.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 3. This local law shall take effect one hundred and twenty days after its enactment into law.