Cancer Treatment Fairness Act Passes Late in Session
The legislature passed the Cancer Treatment Fairness Act late in the 2013 session as part of HB 1159. The act takes effect July 1, 2014. It creates section 627.42391 relating to health insurers and section 641.313 relating to health maintenance organizations. The act requires insurers and HMO’s to cover prescribed orally administered cancer medications in all of their products for which they otherwise cover cancer treatment medications. The act specifies that the insurers and HMO’s also cannot impose cost-sharing requirements for orally administered treatments that are less favorable than cost-sharing requirements for covered intravenous or injected cancer treatments. The requirements, however, do not apply to grandfathered health plans under 42 U.S.C. 18011. The act also provides that if the cost-sharing requirement for intravenous or injected cancer medications are less than $50 per month, the cost-sharing for oral medications may be up to $50 per month.