Relating to reimbursement of pharmacy services; and prescribing an effective date.
Summary
HB 2942 amends Oregon’s Medicaid reimbursement statute for pharmacy services. It authorizes the Oregon Health Authority and coordinated care organizations to reimburse pharmacists or pharmacies for health services provided to medical assistance recipients, so long as the service is within a pharmacist’s lawful scope of practice and otherwise covered under the state’s medical assistance program. The bill applies both to recipients outside coordinated care organizations and to those enrolled in a coordinated care organization or prepaid managed care health services organization that has a clinical pharmacy agreement with the pharmacist or pharmacy.
The bill also specifically requires the Oregon Health Authority and coordinated care organizations to reimburse pharmacists or pharmacies, in the same manner as other health care providers, for prescribing, dispensing, and administering pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylactic antiretroviral therapies under existing Oregon law. The measure takes effect 91 days after adjournment of the 2025 regular legislative session.
Impact
HB 2942 expands and clarifies when pharmacists and pharmacies may be paid for services under Oregon’s Medicaid framework, amending ORS 414.764. It reinforces reimbursement authority for pharmacist-provided care, including HIV prevention and post-exposure prophylaxis services, and places pharmacists on more equal footing with other health care providers for those services. The bill primarily affects the Oregon Health Authority, coordinated care organizations, prepaid managed care plans with clinical pharmacy agreements, pharmacists, pharmacies, and Medicaid recipients.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support and little visible opposition. It passed the House committee 9-0, the House floor 56-0, the Senate committee 5-0, and the Senate floor 29-0. The unanimous votes suggest general agreement that expanding reimbursement for pharmacist services is a practical health care policy change.
Contention
No major controversy is evident in the available record, and there are no committee transcripts indicating disputed issues. Any potential policy questions would likely center on reimbursement costs, the scope of pharmacist services eligible for payment, and how coordinated care organizations implement clinical pharmacy agreements, but the recorded votes show no organized opposition to those points.