Healthcare

HB 163 regulates Pharmacy Benefits Managers (PBMs) to ensure fair practices for pharmacies and insured individuals. The bill prohibits PBMs from charging insurers more for a prescription drug than they pay the pharmacy (spread pricing) and requires patient out-of-pocket costs to be based on the net price after any PBM concessions. It establishes minimum reimbursement standards for pharmacies, preventing PBMs from paying less than the national average drug acquisition cost plus a dispensing fee. Additionally, it clarifies that PBMs cannot restrict accredited pharmacies from dispensing specialty drugs and strengthens audit protections for pharmacies.

House Bill 107 designates the second week of November each year as Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) Awareness Week in North Carolina. Additionally, it encourages local boards of education to develop and offer seizure awareness training for school personnel who are responsible for students with epilepsy or who are otherwise predisposed to seizures. This training aims to provide school staff with information to support these students.

HB 152 aims to regulate how health benefit plans in North Carolina cover Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) services. If an insurer chooses to cover TMS, the bill requires them to cover all procedures performed by properly licensed healthcare providers, regardless of their medical specialty, as long as TMS is within their scope of practice. It prohibits insurers from penalizing providers solely based on their specialty when submitting TMS claims. However, the bill maintains that insurers retain discretion over whether to cover TMS, for which conditions, and at what reimbursement rates.

House Bill 592, known as the Toxic-Free Medical Devices Act of 2025, aims to prohibit the use of a chemical called DEHP in certain medical devices within North Carolina. Specifically, it bans the manufacturing, selling, and distributing of intravenous solution containers and intravenous tubing that are intentionally made with DEHP. The prohibition for IV solution containers takes effect on January 1, 2030, and for IV tubing on January 1, 2035. The bill also prevents replacing DEHP with other similar chemicals in these devices and sets limits for unintentionally present DEHP, while exempting certain blood-related products. Violations of these provisions could lead to administrative penalties.

HB 71, the Respiratory Care Modernization Act, updates North Carolina's laws governing respiratory care practice. It creates a new "Advanced respiratory care practitioner" (ARCP) category for licensed professionals with postgraduate training, requiring Board-endorsed competency for advanced procedures. The bill clarifies that ARCPs cannot diagnose, prescribe, or perform invasive procedures without physician supervision, while defining their scope to include cardiopulmonary care and tasks delegated by physicians. This directly affects respiratory care practitioners and patients by standardizing advanced practice rules and ensuring procedures align with current professional standards. The changes aim to reflect modern respiratory care practices without altering basic licensing requirements.