SB1509 directs the Legislative Reference Bureau to study best practices for regulating pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and for reducing prescription drug costs for health insurance plan beneficiaries. The study must look at how other states regulate PBMs and identify approaches that improve transparency and lower drug costs in the health insurance system.
The bill also requires the bureau to submit a report with findings, recommendations, and any proposed legislation to the Legislature by 20 days before the 2026 regular session. Although the bill is framed as a study measure rather than a direct regulatory change, it is intended to inform future policy on PBM oversight and prescription drug affordability.
Impact
SB1509 does not immediately change existing pharmacy, insurance, or prescription drug statutes; instead, it creates a legislative study mandate for the Legislative Reference Bureau. Its practical impact is to generate a policy report that could lead to future legislation affecting pharmacy benefit managers, health insurers, drug pricing practices, and transparency requirements in the prescription drug market.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests generally favorable support for the bill. It passed both the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee and the Senate Health and Human Services Committee unanimously, each with amendments, indicating broad agreement on the need to examine PBM regulation and prescription drug costs. No committee transcripts were provided, so there is no recorded floor or hearing debate to suggest significant opposition in the available materials.
Contention
The main policy issue underlying the bill is how aggressively Hawaii should regulate pharmacy benefit managers and what methods are most effective for lowering prescription drug costs. Potential points of contention include the scope of PBM oversight, the balance between transparency requirements and industry compliance burdens, and whether the state should pursue stronger regulation versus more limited study-based recommendations. Because the bill only commissions a study, any sharper disagreement likely centers on future legislation rather than the study itself.
Prescriptions for testosterone not allowed to be transmitted or reported within the prescription drug monitoring database and removes from the records all existing information concerning prior testosterone prescriptions.
Prescriptions for testosterone not allowed to be transmitted or reported within the prescription drug monitoring database and removes from the records all existing information concerning prior testosterone prescriptions.
Increases the maximum fill for non-opioid, non-narcotic controlled substances found in schedule II, so that a sixty-day (60) supply may be dispensed at any one time.
Increases the maximum fill for non-opioid, non-narcotic controlled substances found in schedule II, so that a ninety-day (90) supply may be dispensed at any one time.