Beginning Jan. 1, health insurers will be required to cover clinician-administered medications, or outpatient infusion therapies, for Rhode Island residents.
Gov. Dan McKee signed the changes into law June 24. The legislation targets the practice of "white bagging," a term to describe when payers use their own contracted pharmacy to supply specialty drugs to healthcare facilities.
Insurers cannot "refuse to authorize, approve or pay a provider for a covered clinician-administered drug that was administered and dispensed by any in-network hospital or clinic," according to the legislation.
Reimbursements for hospitals and clinics must be at an equal rate to those negotiated between insurers and their preferred pharmacies.