Prohibited actions

Sec. 16. (a) Except as provided in section 15 of this chapter, with respect to the provision of pharmacy or pharmacist services under a health plan, an insurer, a pharmacy benefit manager, or any other administrator of pharmacy benefits may not: (1) prohibit a pharmacy or pharmacist from, or impose a penalty on a pharmacy or pharmacist for: (A) selling a lower cost alternative to an insured, if a lower cost alternative is available; or (B) providing information to an insured under subsection (c); (2) discriminate against any pharmacy or pharmacist that is: (A) located within the geographic coverage area of the health plan; and (B) willing to agree to, or accept, terms and conditions established for participation in the insurer's, pharmacy benefit manager's, other administrator's, or health plan's network; (3) impose limits, including quantity limits or refill frequency limits, on an insured's access to medication from a pharmacy that are more restrictive than those existing for a pharmacy affiliate; (4) except as provided in subsection (b), require an insured to receive pharmacy or pharmacist services from a pharmacy affiliate, including: (A) requiring an insured to obtain a specialty drug from a pharmacy affiliate; and (B) charging less cost sharing to insureds that use pharmacy affiliates than what is charged to insureds that use nonaffiliated pharmacies; (5) require a pharmacy or pharmacist to enter into an additional contract with an affiliate of the insurer, pharmacy benefit manager, or other administrator of pharmacy benefits as a condition of entering into a contract with this insurer, pharmacy benefit manager, or administrator; or (6) require a pharmacy or pharmacist to, as a condition of a contract, agree to payment rates for any affiliate of the insurer, pharmacy benefit manager, or other administrator of pharmacy benefits that is not a party to the contract. (b) Subsection (a)(4): (1) does not apply to a mail order pharmacy; and (2) may not be construed to prohibit: (A) communications to insureds regarding networks and prices if the communication is accurate and includes information about all eligible nonaffiliated pharmacies; or (B) an insurer, a pharmacy benefit manager, or any other administrator of pharmacy benefits from providing financial incentives for utilizing the network, if the insurer, pharmacy benefit manager, or other administrator complies with this section and section 14 of this chapter. (c) A pharmacist shall have the right to provide an insured with information regarding lower cost alternatives to assist the insured in making informed decisions.