Senate Bill 62 (Prescription Drug Rebates and Pricing), authored by Sen. Vaneta Becker (R-Evansville) and opposed by the Indiana Chamber, died this week. Much credit has to be given to Sen. Liz Brown (R-Fort Wayne) for three of four amendments that she filed on second reading. The amendments required disclosure of drug pricing of wholesalers, pharmacies and manufacturers. (The bill already has requirements for insurers.) We can only imagine what debate went on in the Senate Republican Caucus over this bill and those amendments. As a result, Sen. Becker did not call the bill down to be debated.

Senate Bill 131 (Disclosures Related to Prescription Drugs), authored by Sen. Mike Bohachek (R-Michigan City), passed the Senate 32-17. After a second reading amendment, we don’t believe the bill is any better at lowering costs and will most likely raise premiums for small group fully insured plans. Additionally, insurers have indicated that this will be difficult legislation to implement. Therefore, the Indiana Chamber remains opposed. We anticipate this bill being sent to the House Insurance Committee where we will lobby the chairman, Rep. Martin Carbaugh (R-Fort Wayne). It looks doubtful that SB 131 and SB 143 (see below) will both be stopped, especially since SB 62 (see above) died.  Some senators appear determined to pass “something” related to drug price transparency in combination with more pharmacy benefit regulations.  Our goal will be to do our best to mitigate the impacts of such legislation.

Senate Bill 143 (Pharmacy Benefit Managers), authored by Sen. Andy Zay (R-Huntington), easily passed the Senate 45-3. While we still oppose the measure, we acknowledge it was amended significantly for the better in the Senate Appropriations Committee prior to full passage. The bill adds requirements of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) when denying an appeal of the maximum allowable cost pricing of a prescription drug. Last year Sen. Brown worked extremely hard to pass legislation to regulate PBMs (SEA 241). The ink isn’t even dry on that legislation and legislators are back trying to enact more regulations. This 2021 bill favors pharmacies to the detriment of PBMs and employers. It does nothing to lower costs and most likely will increase premiums for small group fully insured plans. The one positive thing is that Rep. Matt Lehman (R-Berne) is the House sponsor. While he may favor some more regulation on PBMs, he does understand our concerns. For the Senate to have a victory, look for SB 143 to be the bill that does “something.”

Senate Bill 213 (Certified Technology Parks), authored by Sen. Travis Holdman (R-Markle), overwhelmingly passed the full Senate 47-2. The Chamber fully endorses this legislation that would give certified technology parks (CTPs) additional funding – increasing from $100,000 per year to a maximum of $250,000 per year (without adding another lifetime cap or automatically resetting the tax base). The CTP program is uniquely positioned to support many of the state’s most important economic goals: jobs, wages, innovation, workforce development and small business growth. Best of all, the CTP program is performance based. Despite the strong support in the Senate, we anticipate having to push hard for this bill in the House and might be calling on you to reach out to key legislators.

Senate Bill 215 (Redevelopment Projects), also authored by Sen. Holdman, cleared the Senate 45-4. Previously, the Chamber testified in support of this measure that would invest in regional economic development. The legislation seeks to invest $150 million (over two years) in quality of place investments that will spur economic growth throughout the state via regional collaboration, planning and cooperation. We believe the General Assembly must be bold and creative in developing a regional economic development growth strategy – and this bill is part of that effort.

Resources: Mike Ripley at (317) 264-6883 or email: mripley@indianachamber.com; Adam H. Berry at (317) 264-6892 or email: aberry@indianachamber.com;