The General Assembly earlier this month passed new legislation to protect patients from an insurance scheme known as “white bagging.” The law will prohibit insurers from requiring patients to get their prescriptions from a pharmacy that is only mail order-only.
“White bagging is simply bad for patient care. It is a money-making effort for insurers that stands between people and the medicine they need. No cancer patient should have to wait for their insurer’s preferred pharmacy to send chemo drugs that are readily available at the facility that is administering them. This is a needless layer of profit-driven bureaucracy that we should not allow to hurt Rhode Islanders,” said Representative Justine Caldwell, who sponsored the law with Sen. Linda Ujifusa.
Under the current system, if a patient needs a drug that is administered in a hospital setting, the patient goes to the hospital where the clinician orders the drug. The patient then travels to their local pharmacy to fill the prescription. This can cause delays as the patient may need to wait for the drug to arrive from the specialty pharmacy or not get reimbursed. If the patient’s insurance plan changes, they may also need to discard the drug.
According to the American Hospital Association, white bagging can cause administrative delays, medication costs for patients, and disruptions to the patient-provider relationship.
The new law will take effect on Jan. 1, 2024. It will prohibit insurers and pharmacy benefit managers from engaging in white bagging with the goal of ensuring that patients receive necessary medications in a timely manner.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.
