relative to the affordability and safety of clinician administered drugs.

SB 256 establishes rules for "clinician-administered drugs" - outpatient prescriptions (like IV cancer treatments) that patients cannot self-administer and are typically given in clinics or hospitals. It prohibits health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers from mandating "white bagging" (pharmacy delivers drugs to providers) or "brown bagging" (patients transport drugs) without written agreements and consent from both the patient and provider. The bill ensures patients can choose their pharmacy for these drugs, prevents insurers from charging extra fees for non-network pharmacy use, and stops insurers from reducing payments to providers who obtain these drugs outside their network. The law takes effect January 1, 2027.