NY State Senate Bill 2023-S2569

Senate Bill S2569

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Prohibits certain chain pharmacies from establishing quotas for duties performed by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Higher Education Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to higher education
Jan 23, 2023	referred to higher education

2023-S2569 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A2604
Current Committee:: Senate Higher Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §6808, Ed L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S9118, A10331

2023-S2569 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits publicly traded pharmacies with twenty or more stores in this state from establishing or enforcing quotas for duties performed by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, including evaluating or measuring the number of prescriptions filled, services rendered, programs offered and revenue obtained.

2023-S2569 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S2569

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to prohibiting certain
chain pharmacies from establishing quotas for duties performed by phar-
macists and pharmacy technicians

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill would create a "chain community pharmacy" category in the
Education Law, and provide for protections against quotas imposed upon
the pharmacy employees of those pharmacies. The bill empowers chain
community pharmacies to implement performance metrics as long as quotas
are not incorporated into those metrics.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one amends New York State Education Law by adding a new section
6808(3) that would create a "chain community pharmacy" designation for
pharmacies that are publicly traded with at least 20 pharmacies under

common ownership that would permit unregistered pharmacies from outside
New York.

Subsection b promulgates a registration framework for chain community
pharmacies.

Subsection c provides for the prohibition against imposing quotas on
employee pharmacists.

Subsection d provides for the permissible use of metrics to evaluate
employee pharmacists.

Section two of the bill sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the New York Times and other publica-
tions highlighted the demanding working conditions for employees of
large publicly traded pharmacies. However, state regulators had diffi-
culty addressing these issues because there was no distinction in the
law among the independent retail pharmacies and the large multi-state
operators. This bill creates the "chain community pharmacy designation
which will allow the State Education Department to regulate the practice
conditions of this sector in a more surgical manner. It also provides
for a ban on prescription quotas, which can threaten patient safety.
However, the bill still allows chain community pharmacies a number of
permissible metrics to employ when evaluating the performance of staff
pharmacists.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2022: S9118 - Referred to Higher Education

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.

2023-S2569 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2569
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 23, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend the education law, in relation to prohibiting certain
   chain pharmacies from establishing  quotas  for  duties  performed  by
   pharmacists and pharmacy technicians

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 6808 of the education law is amended  by  adding  a
 new subdivision 3 to read as follows:
   3. CHAIN COMMUNITY PHARMACIES; REGISTRATION.
   A. DEFINITIONS. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION:
   (1)  "CHAIN COMMUNITY PHARMACY" MEANS A PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANY HAVING
 AT LEAST TWENTY PHARMACIES IN NEW YORK STATE UNDER THE SAME OWNERSHIP.
   (2) EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH D  OF  THIS  SUBDIVISION,  "QUOTA"
 MEANS  A FIXED NUMBER OR FORMULA RELATED TO THE DUTIES FOR WHICH A PHAR-
 MACIST OR PHARMACY TECHNICIAN LICENSE IS  REQUIRED,  AGAINST  WHICH  THE
 CHAIN  COMMUNITY  PHARMACY OR ITS AGENT MEASURES OR EVALUATES THE NUMBER
 OF TIMES AN INDIVIDUAL PHARMACIST OR PHARMACY TECHNICIAN PERFORMS  TASKS
 OR PROVIDES SERVICES WHILE ON DUTY.
   B.  OBTAINING  A  REGISTRATION.  A  CHAIN  COMMUNITY PHARMACY SHALL BE
 REGISTERED AS FOLLOWS:
   (1) THE APPLICATION SHALL BE MADE ON A FORM PRESCRIBED BY THE  DEPART-
 MENT.
   (2)  THE  APPLICATION  SHALL  BE  ACCOMPANIED BY A FEE OF ONE THOUSAND
 DOLLARS.
   C. PROHIBITION OF QUOTAS.
   (1) NO CHAIN COMMUNITY PHARMACY, AS DEFINED IN  PARAGRAPH  A  OF  THIS
 SUBDIVISION,  SHALL ESTABLISH, IMPLEMENT OR ENFORCE ANY QUOTA RELATED TO
 THE DUTIES FOR WHICH A PHARMACIST  OR  PHARMACY  TECHNICIAN  LICENSE  IS
 REQUIRED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE FOLLOWING DUTIES:
   (A) PRESCRIPTIONS FILLED.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06937-01-3

 S. 2569                             2
 
   (B) SERVICES RENDERED TO PATIENTS.
   (C) PROGRAMS OFFERED TO PATIENTS.
   (D) REVENUE OBTAINED.
   (2) NO CHAIN COMMUNITY PHARMACY SHALL, THROUGH ITS EMPLOYEES, CONTRAC-
 TORS, OR THIRD-PARTIES, COMMUNICATE THE EXISTENCE OF ANY QUOTA PROHIBIT-
 ED PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION TO ANY PHARMACIST OR PHARMACY TECHNICIAN
 EMPLOYED BY SUCH CHAIN COMMUNITY PHARMACY OR WITH WHOM SUCH CHAIN COMMU-
 NITY PHARMACY CONTRACTS FOR SERVICES.
   D. EXCEPTIONS.
   (1) NOTHING IN THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL PROHIBIT A CHAIN COMMUNITY PHAR-
 MACY  FROM ESTABLISHING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES THAT ASSIST IN ASSESSING
 THE COMPETENCY AND PERFORMANCE OF A PHARMACIST OR PHARMACY TECHNICIAN IN
 PROVIDING CARE TO PATIENTS PROVIDED THAT ANY SUCH  POLICY  OR  PROCEDURE
 SHALL  NOT INCLUDE OR EMPLOY A QUOTA RELATING TO THE DUTIES AND SERVICES
 DESCRIBED IN SUBPARAGRAPH ONE OF PARAGRAPH C OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   (2) NOTHING IN THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL PROHIBIT A CHAIN COMMUNITY PHAR-
 MACY FROM ESTABLISHING OR IMPLEMENTING A FIXED NUMBER AGAINST WHICH SUCH
 CHAIN COMMUNITY PHARMACY OR ITS AGENT MEASURES OR EVALUATES:
   (A) THE AMOUNT OF REVENUE EARNED BY A PARTICULAR LICENSED CHAIN COMMU-
 NITY PHARMACY, PROVIDED SUCH NUMBER NOT CALCULATED IN  RELATION  TO,  OR
 MEASURED  BY,  THE  TASKS PERFORMED, OR SERVICES PROVIDED BY, INDIVIDUAL
 PHARMACISTS OR PHARMACY TECHNICIANS.
   (B) THE COMPETENCE,  PERFORMANCE,  OR  QUALITY  OF  CARE  PROVIDED  TO
 PATIENTS  BY  A  PHARMACIST OR PHARMACY TECHNICIAN, PROVIDED SUCH EVALU-
 ATION DOES NOT INCLUDE AN ASSESSMENT OF ANY OF THE DUTIES OR  ACTIVITIES
 DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPH C OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   (3) NOTHING IN THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL PROHIBIT A CHAIN COMMUNITY PHAR-
 MACY  FROM EMPLOYING ANY PERFORMANCE METRIC REQUIRED BY STATE OR FEDERAL
 REGULATORS, PROVIDED SUCH PERFORMANCE METRIC DOES NOT MEASURE OR  EVALU-
 ATE  THE  DUTIES OR ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPH C OF THIS SUBDIVI-
 SION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.

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