CHAPTER 221
SB 61-FN - FINAL VERSION
2025 SESSION
25-0979
05/11
SENATE BILL 61-FN
AN ACT relative to prescriptions for state prisoners paid for by the department of corrections.
SPONSORS: Sen. Gray, Dist 6
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
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ANALYSIS
This bill permits the department of corrections to enter into purchasing agreements with drug manufacturers, if that agreement is cost beneficial to the state. This bill also eliminates the requirement for notification to be completed in the pharmacist’s own handwriting.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
25-0979
05/11
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Five
AN ACT relative to prescriptions for state prisoners paid for by the department of corrections.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
221:1 Medical Services for State Prisoners. Amend RSA 623-C:2, III to read as follows:
III. Pharmacists shall substitute generically equivalent drug products for all legend and non-legend prescriptions paid for by the department of corrections, [including the Medicaid program,] unless the prescribing practitioner specifies that the brand name drug product is medically necessary. [Such notification shall be in the practitioner's own handwriting and shall be retained in the pharmacist's file.] The pharmacist shall not select an equivalent drug product unless its price to the purchaser or payor is less than the price of the prescribed drug product. The department may enter into agreements or collaborative purchasing structures to buy or acquire therapeutic agents that will result in cost savings to the department. The commissioner of the department of corrections may waive the application of RSA 623-C:2, I if the commissioner determines such action is necessary to ensure the availability of prescription and other pharmaceutical services to persons served by the state or to avert serious economic hardship in the provision of prescriptions and other pharmaceutical services. [For Medicaid fee for service clients, no prior authorization for generically equivalent drugs shall be required.]
221:2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: July 15, 2025
Effective Date: September 13, 2025
| Date | Body | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 22, 2025 | Senate | Hearing |
| Jan. 30, 2025 | Senate | Floor Vote |
| April 23, 2025 | House | Hearing |
| April 23, 2025 | House | Exec Session |
| April 23, 2025 | House | Floor Vote |
July 22, 2025: Signed by the Governor on 07/15/2025; Chapter 0221; Effective 09/13/2025
June 30, 2025: Enrolled Adopted, VV, (In recess 06/26/2025); SJ 17
June 30, 2025: Enrolled (in recess of) 06/26/2025
June 30, 2025: Enrolled Adopted, VV, (In recess 06/26/2025); SJ 17
May 22, 2025: Ought to Pass: MA VV 05/22/2025 HJ 15 P. 6
May 6, 2025: Committee Report: Ought to Pass 04/23/2025 (Vote 13-0; CC)
May 6, 2025: Executive Session: 04/23/2025 01:00 pm LOB 306-308
April 16, 2025: Public Hearing: 04/23/2025 01:00 pm LOB 306-308
March 28, 2025: Introduced (in recess of) 03/27/2025 and referred to Executive Departments and Administration HJ 11 P. 110
Jan. 30, 2025: Ought to Pass: MA, VV; OT3rdg; 01/30/2025; SJ 4
Jan. 22, 2025: Committee Report: Ought to Pass, 01/30/2025; Vote 3-0; CC; SC 7
Jan. 16, 2025: Hearing: 01/22/2025, Room 103, SH, 09:45 am; SC 7
Jan. 14, 2025: Introduced 01/09/2025 and Referred to Executive Departments and Administration; SJ 3