Safe in-home drug disposal initiative

(a)

In general

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, (in this section referred to as the Secretary) shall establish a program to award grants to States to implement targeted State demonstration initiatives (in this section referred to as TSDIs). Such TSDIs shall reimburse licensed pharmacies that choose to participate in the TSDI (in this section referred to as participating pharmacies) for the provision to eligible patients, in coordination with the delivery of drug prescriptions, of in-home drug disposal systems and standard medication safety education.(b)

Application

To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a State shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. Such an application shall—(1)identify the State agency that oversees pharmaceutical care and will be responsible for administering a TSDI through a grant under this section;(2)identify the single pharmacy benefit manager (commonly known as a PBM) that will be responsible for—(A)adjudicating claims under the TSDI;(B)reimbursing participating pharmacies; and(C)facilitating the type of customization required to successfully administer a custom, fully transparent program, with pass-through claims adjudication services benefitting patients, plans, and pharmacies;(3)outline the process by which participating pharmacies will submit usual and customary costs related to the reimbursement and remuneration of services, including detailed reporting on—(A)criteria of patient selection;(B)initial activity; and(C)patient engagement factors;(4)detail the process through which standard medication safety education will be communicated by each participating pharmacist or pharmacy technician at the point of dispensing, allowing for unique needs and education to be tailored for State-, county-, town-, and municipality-specific needs;(5)detail a plan to increase participation rates of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians through a single electronic pharmacy claim process;(6)state the remuneration amounts for the provision of standard medication safety education, and the reimbursement amounts for in-home drug disposal systems, which for each eligible patient shall be assessed separately but processed through a single electronic claim;(7)describe how the State will select pharmacies to be served under the TSDI; and(8)include the number of eligible patients to be served under the TSDI.(c)

Number

The Secretary shall award grants under this section to not more than 5 States.(d)

Grant period

A grant awarded under this section shall be for a period of at least 3 years.(e)

Accountability and oversight

As a condition of receiving a grant under this section, a State shall agree to submit to the Secretary, at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may reasonably require, a report on the TSDI of the State implemented through such grant. Such report shall—(1)list the number of pharmacy locations that are reimbursed through the grant funds;(2)describe the activities undertaken by the State using the grant amounts, outlining the in-home drug disposal solutions distributed and the patient education delivered;(3)survey pharmacies to collect demographic information on participating patients, medication types prescribed, and the effective use of the in-home drug disposal systems; and(4)contain performance measures relating to the effectiveness of the grant, including changes in the participation rate of eligible patients and the engagement with pharmacists.(f)

Definitions

In this section:(1)

Eligible patients

The term eligible patients means patients receiving an opioid prescription who are at risk of experiencing an opioid-related overdose, including such patients—(A)with a first-time opioid prescription;(B)with an acute opioid prescription prescribed for a short-term illness or condition; or(C)that have received a change in the opioid dosage of an acute or chronic opioid prescription. (2)

In-home drug disposal system

The term in-home drug disposal system means a system of drug disposal—(A)that changes the physical integrity of the formulation of a drug;(B)that renders the active ingredients of such drug unusable for all practical purposes;(C)that—(i)is nontoxic and nonhazardous;(ii)poses no threat to the consumer; and(iii)reduces drug exposure to the environment; and(D)that acts as a deterrent for misuse of drugs.(3)

Standard medication safety education

The term standard medication safety education means medication safety education—(A)provided by a pharmacist or pharmacy technician to eligible patients for a duration of not more than 5 minutes per patient; and(B)that includes information relating to—(i)proper medication storage;(ii)risks associated with keeping unused medication in the home;(iii)proper in-home disposal of unused medication; and(iv)in the case of naloxone that is prescribed as an opioid medication, the proper use of such naloxone(4)

State

The term State means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, and any territory of the United States.(g)

Authorization of appropriations

There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $56,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.