1.This Act may be cited as the
Access to Legal Pharmaceuticals
Act
.
2.The Congress finds as follows:
(1)An individual’s right to religious belief
and worship is a protected, fundamental right in the United States.
(2)An individual’s
right to access legal contraception is a protected, fundamental right in the
United States.
(3)An individual's right to religious belief
and worship cannot impede an individual's access to legal prescriptions,
including contraception.
3.Duties of
pharmacies with respect to refusal of pharmacists to fill valid
prescriptions
(a)Part B of title II of
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 238 et seq.) is amended by adding at
the end the following section:
249.Duties of
pharmacies with respect to refusal of pharmacists to fill valid
prescriptions
(a)A pharmacy that receives prescription drugs or
prescription devices in interstate commerce shall maintain compliance with the
following conditions:
(1)If a product is in
stock and a pharmacist employed by the pharmacy refuses on the basis of a
personal belief to fill a valid prescription for the product, the pharmacy
ensures, subject to the consent of the individual presenting the prescription
in any case in which the individual has reason to know of the refusal, that the
prescription is, without delay, filled by another pharmacist employed by the
pharmacy.
(2)Subject to subsection (b), if a product is
not in stock and a pharmacist employed by the pharmacy refuses on the basis of
a personal belief or on the basis of pharmacy policy to order or to offer to
order the product when presented a valid prescription for the product—
(A)the pharmacy
ensures that the individual presenting the prescription is immediately informed
that the product is not in stock but can be ordered by the pharmacy; and
(B)the pharmacy
ensures, subject to the consent of the individual, that the product is, without
delay, ordered by another pharmacist employed by the pharmacy.
(3)The pharmacy does
not employ any pharmacist who engages in any conduct with the intent to prevent
or deter an individual from filling a valid prescription for a product or from
ordering the product (other than the specific conduct described in paragraph
(1) or (2)), including—
(A)the refusal to
return a prescription form to the individual after refusing to fill the
prescription or order the product, if the individual requests the return of
such form;
(B)the refusal to transfer prescription
information to another pharmacy for refill dispensing when such a transfer is
lawful, if the individual requests such transfer;
(C)subjecting the
individual to humiliation or otherwise harassing the individual; or
(D)breaching medical
confidentiality with respect to the prescription or threatening to breach such
confidentiality.
(b)Products not
ordinarily stockedSubsection (a)(2) applies only with respect to
a pharmacy ordering a particular product for an individual presenting a valid
prescription for the product, and does not require the pharmacy to keep such
product in stock, except that such subsection has no applicability with respect
to a product for a health condition if the pharmacy does not keep in stock any
product for such condition.
(c)
(1)A pharmacy that violates a requirement of subsection (a)
is liable to the United States for a civil penalty in an amount not exceeding
$5,000 per day of violation, and not to exceed $500,000 for all violations
adjudicated in a single proceeding.
(2)Any person aggrieved as a result of a violation of a
requirement of subsection (a) may, in any court of competent jurisdiction,
commence a civil action against the pharmacy involved to obtain appropriate
relief, including actual and punitive damages, injunctive relief, and a
reasonable attorney's fee and cost.
(3)A
civil action under paragraph (1) or (2) may not be commenced against a pharmacy
after the expiration of the five-year period beginning on the date on which the
pharmacy allegedly engaged in the violation involved.
(d)For
purposes of this section:
(1)The term
employ
, with respect to the services of a pharmacist, includes
entering into a contract for the provision of such services.
(2)The term pharmacist
means a
person authorized by a State to practice pharmacy, including the dispensing and
selling of prescription drugs.
(3)The term pharmacy
means a
person who—
(A)is authorized by a
State to engage in the business of selling prescription drugs at retail;
and
(B)employs one or
more pharmacists.
(4)The term
prescription device
means a device whose sale at retail is
restricted under section 520(e)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act.
(5)The term
prescription drug
means a drug that is subject to section
503(b)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
(6)The term
product
means a prescription drug or a prescription
device.
(7)The term valid
, with respect
to a prescription, means—
(A)in the case of a
drug, a prescription within the meaning of section 503(b)(1) of the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that is in compliance with applicable law,
including, in the case of a prescription for a drug that is a controlled
substance, compliance with part 1306 of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations,
or successor regulations; and
(B)in the case of a device, an authorization
of a practitioner within the meaning of section 520(e)(1) of such Act that is
in compliance with applicable law.
(8)The term without delay
, with
respect to a pharmacy filling a prescription for a product or ordering the
product, means within the usual and customary timeframe at the pharmacy for
filling prescriptions for products for the health condition involved or for
ordering such products,
respectively.
.
(b)The amendment made by subsection (a) takes effect upon the
expiration of 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, without
regard to whether the Secretary of Health and Human Services has issued any
guidance or final rule regarding such amendment.