A 3859: Authorizes workers' compensation claimants to use any in-state pharmacy that is registered with the education department, though an employer or insurance carrier may encourage use of a pharmacy with which it has a contract; provides that a workers' compensation carrier shall not be liable for charges from any out-of-state pharmacy or for any extemporaneous compound medication that has by been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3859 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY January 30, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. BRONSON -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Labor AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to the provision of prescription medicine to workers' compensation claimants The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph 5 of subdivision (i) of section 13 of the work- 2 ers' compensation law, as added by chapter 6 of the laws of 2007, is 3 amended to read as follows: 4 (5) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, if an employ- 5 er or carrier has contracted with a pharmacy to provide prescribed medi- 6 cine to claimants, then such employer or carrier may [require] encourage 7 claimants to obtain all prescribed medicines from the pharmacy with 8 which it has contracted[, except if a medical emergency occurs and it 9 would not be reasonably possible to obtain immediately required 10 prescribed medicine from the pharmacy with which the employer or carrier 11 has a contract]. An employer or carrier that [requires] encourages 12 claimants to obtain prescribed medicines from a pharmacy with which it 13 has a contract must notify claimants of the pharmacy or pharmacies with 14 which it has a contract, the locations and addresses of the pharmacy or 15 pharmacies, if applicable, how to initially fill and refill 16 prescriptions through the mail, internet, telephone or other means, and 17 any other required information that must be supplied to the pharmacy or 18 pharmacies. [If the pharmacy or pharmacies with which the employer or 19 carrier contracts does not offer mail order service and does not have a 20 physical location within a reasonable distance from the claimant, as 21 defined by regulation of the board, the claimant may obtain prescribed 22 medicines at the pharmacy or pharmacies of his or her choice and the 23 employer or carrier will be liable for such charges in accordance with 24 the fee schedule prescribed in section thirteen-o of this chapter.] 25 Notwithstanding an employer's or a carrier's authority to contract with EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD06469-01-5 
 A. 3859 2 1 a network pharmacy and encourage claimants to use it such network phar- 2 macy exclusively, claimants may obtain prescribed medicines at the phar- 3 macy or pharmacies of such claimant's choice so long as such pharmacy is 4 registered as a resident, in-state pharmacy with the education depart- 5 ment, and the employer or carrier shall be liable for such charges in 6 accordance with the fee schedule prescribed in section thirteen-o of 7 this article so long as the medications are casually related to the 8 claimant's work related injuries. Such requirements shall not apply to 9 any non-resident, out-of-state pharmacies nor shall it apply to any 10 compound medications that the claimant is prescribed. The employer or 11 carrier shall have the right to deny any charges that originate from 12 non-resident, out-of-state pharmacies and deny any charges for extempo- 13 raneous compound medications that have not been approved by the federal 14 Food and Drug Administration. 15 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 16 it shall have become a law.