Latest news with #SB93
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gov. Rhoden has signed 64 bills, including baby box bill
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – Gov. Larry Rhoden has signed 64 bills into state law so far this legislative session. One of the most recent bills Rhoden signed on Thursday was House Bill 1044, which authorizes the use of safety boxes to anonymously surrender a newborn at an emergency location. Bill removing librarian defense heads for Senate floor The bill was named after Baby Gabriel, who was found dead in a Sioux Falls recycling center last August. Supporters of the bill say if the safe haven boxes had been legal in the state and another option was available instead of abandonment, it could have prevented Gabriel's death. 'Hopefully with these baby boxes, there will be fewer 'Baby Gabriels' and more babies in loving homes,' Rhoden said in a news release from Thursday. Rhoden also signed five other bills into law Thursday. SB 93 prohibits payment or rebate of insurance deductibles by contractors providing motor vehicle repair services SB 111 permits a court to order family therapy or reunification therapy in a custody or visitation dispute HB 1099 modifies the community paramedic endorsement HB 1144 adopts the dietitian licensure compact HB 1189 extends by two years the date on which moneys appropriated to the Governor's Office of Economic Development in 2021 for marketing, route restoration, business development, and air service marketing will revert to the general fund. KELOLAND News has reported twice on bills Rhoden signed. Our latest report from February 25 covered 43 bills. How Sioux Falls suspects were tracked down in Michigan From February 25 to March 5, Rhoden signed an additional 15 bills. SB 65 provides for the sale of certain real estate located in Pennington County and provides for the deposit of the proceeds SB 71 revises provisions pertaining to the compulsory age for school attendance SB 72 revises the payor of autopsy costs in certain circumstances SB 84 extends the timeframe for filling a vacancy in a board of county commissioners SB 97 allows the governing body of a municipality to change the use of municipally owned parkland by ordinance SB 109 permits a school district to implement a new or revised section 504 plan, individualized family service plan, or individualized education program for a student who is the child of an active-duty member of the United States armed forces HB 1042 makes an appropriation for the construction of historical exhibits at the Cultural Heritage Center HB 1053 requires age verification by websites containing material that is harmful to minors HB 1057 transfers moneys from the South Dakota-bred racing fund to the special racing revolving fund HB 1160 waives the driver license renewal period for members of the military and their families, and employees of the state department HB 1063 revises the provisions for preparing a fiscal note for ballot questions HB 1118 prohibits the award or use of state moneys for the research, production, promotion, sale, or distribution of cell-cultured protein HB 1052 prohibits the exercise of eminent domain for a pipeline that carries carbon oxide HB 1173 eliminates the cap on assessment amounts for road improvements HB 1095 extends the area in which a director for an irrigation district may reside All bills will go into effect on July 1, unless they have an emergency clause, then they go into effect immediately. The following bills have already taken effect and are currently being enforced: SB33 makes appropriations for water and environmental purposes and declares an emergency SB 35 modifies substances listed on the controlled substances schedule and to declare an emergency HB 1014 modifies provisions related to emergency medical services personnel and to declare an emergency HB 1033 makes an appropriation for costs related to emergencies and disasters impacting the state and to declare an emergency HB 1034 makes an appropriation for costs related to the suppression of wildfires impacting the state and to declare an emergency HB1047 makes an appropriation to reimburse health care professionals who have complied with the requirements for rural recruitment assistance programs and declares an emergency As of March 7, there are only five days left of this year's legislative session, including Veto Day. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
More than a hundred local pharmacies walkout, asking for PBM reform in Alabama
DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) — More than a hundred locally-owned Alabama pharmacies turned off the lights, shut their doors and closed Tuesday afternoon. The unprecedented walkout is meant to call attention to proposed state reforms that would increase how much independent pharmacies are paid. Eating Disorder Awareness Week: Clinician shares importance of knowing signs, seeking treatment Neighborhood pharmacies are disappearing from communities across Alabama. Pharmacists say they are not being reimbursed as much as their corporate counterparts, and the profit gap is hitting them hard. Change could come from the state legislature this year. Two introduced bills would create reforms for pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). PBMs are the intermediaries between pharmacies and insurance companies, and they negotiate how much the pharmacy makes when you pay for your prescription. Chase Arrington, the owner of River City Pharmacy in Decatur, said many independent pharmacies are not making enough to survive. 'I think if something doesn't happen this legislative session, probably within a year or two there, there may not be any local pharmacies,' Arrington is asking state lawmakers to take on the system led by PBMs, who generally pay higher rates to corporate pharmacies. They are often affiliated with these pharmacies under the same company's ownership. CVS Health is the largest PBM with 21% of the U.S. market, followed by Optum RX, which is owned by United Health Group. Blue Cross, owned by Prime Therapeutics, has 10% of the market. 'Patients are already being steered to corporate-owned pharmacies or mail order and a lot of times that's not even what they want to do, that they're kind of forced that way,' Arrington said. Currently, PBMs can deny coverage for certain drugs at small pharmacies, and prescriptions are sometimes more expensive at a local drugstore than they would be at a large chain. Two Senate bills, SB 93 and SB 99, look to address these issues. SB 99 would offer more regulatory power to the Department of Insurance so it could set benchmarks for reimbursement. Both bills would require PBMs to pay pharmacies for the cost of dispensing drugs, and they call for those payments to come from PBM profits, not from consumers. Mother, stepfather of missing children found in Wyoming extradited to Alabama 'The healthcare system in this country is broken,' Arrington said. 'We all know that we're worried that the cost for health care for patients is continuing to climb and pharmacies are closing in every week. We just feel like PBM reform is important this legislative session to keep our patients' access to care there.' As a part of Tuesday's walkout, many local pharmacies are asking their customers to contact state lawmakers and tell them they support PBM reform. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Pharmacists across Alabama to participate in walkout for PBM reform
ALABAMA (WHNT) — According to the Alabama Pharmacy Association, pharmacists across the state are staging a walkout on Tuesday. The Patient Access Bill, or SB93, advocates for 'patient access and pharmacy survival,' Alabama Pharmacy Association Chief Executive Officer Louise Jones said. 'We have over 100 pharmacies in all areas of Alabama that are participating in some way,' Jones said. You can read the full bill introduced at the beginning of February below. SB93Download To remain accessible to patients, the association said pharmacies will participate in the walkout in a variety of ways. Jones said those who can close for the afternoon will but that not all will fully shut down. Jones also said some pharmacies will close for one or two hours in the afternoon, a few are turning their lights down and some are closing their front doors but the drive-through windows will still be open. The purpose of this walkout/variety of walkout participation, Jones said, is to start a conversation with patients to address the needed Pharmacy Benefit Manager reform (PBM). Many will gather at the Statehouse in Montgomery that day to advocate for Senate Bill 93 which addresses PBM reform and fair reimbursement, and then will walk over and attend the Alabama Pharmacy Association's Legislative Reception to continue the advocacy efforts. The association said PBMs are 'middlemen that determine what medications patients can receive, how much patients pay out of pocket for their prescriptions, and how pharmacies are reimbursed for dispensing medications.' Pharmacies are struggling to keep their doors open as they are often reimbursed for medication at a price lower than their cost of dispensing the medication to the patient. We continue to lose pharmacies across Alabama every month. Originally designed to help reduce the price of prescription drugs, research shows that PBM practices have contributed significantly to the steep increases in prescription costs. APA To learn more about the association and the walkout, you can visit its website here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
