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HLS 26RS-933 ORIGINAL
2026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 918
BY REPRESENTATIVE GALLE
PHARMACIES: Provides relative to pharmaceutical costs
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 40:2255.1 and R.S. 44:4.1 and to enact R.S. 40:2255.2 through
3 2255.7, relative to pharmaceutical coats; to direct the development of critical drug
4 list; to provide for prescription drug costs; to direct the Louisiana Department of
5 Health; to provide for violations; to provide for definitions; to provide for
6 pharmaceutical marketing information; and to provide for related matters.
7 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
8 Section 1. R.S. 40:2255.1 is hereby amended and reenacted and R.S. 40:2255.2
9 through 2255.7 are hereby enacted to read as follows:
10 §2255.1. Definitions
11 * * *
12 (3) "Department" means the Louisiana Department of Health.
13 (4) "Manufacturer" means any entity which is engaged in the production,
14 preparation, propagation, compounding, conversion, or processing of prescription
15 drugs, whether directly or indirectly by extraction from substances of natural origin,
16 independently by means of chemical synthesis, or by a combination of extraction and
17 chemical synthesis, or any entity engaged in the packaging, repackaging, labeling,
18 relabeling, or distribution of prescription drugs. The term shall not include a
19 wholesale distributor of prescription drugs licensed pursuant to the Louisiana Drug
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HLS 26RS-933 ORIGINAL
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1 and Device Distributors Act, R.S. 37:3461 et seq., a retailer, or a pharmacist licensed
2 pursuant to the Louisiana Pharmacy Practice Act, R.S. 37:1161 et seq.
3 (5) "Wholesale acquisition cost" means the wholesale price charged on a
4 specific prescription drug that is assigned by the drug manufacturer and listed in a
5 nationally recognized drug pricing file.
6 §2255.2. Critical prescription drug list
7 A. The department shall develop a list of critical prescription drugs made
8 available in Louisiana for which there is a substantial public interest in
9 understanding the development of pricing for the drugs.
10 B. In developing the list required by Subsection A of this Section, the
11 department shall consider, at a minimum, all of the following factors:
12 (1) The cost of the drug to public healthcare programs including but not
13 limited to Medicaid.
14 (2) The current cost of the drug in the state.
15 (3) The extent of use of the drug within the state.
16 (4) The availability and cost of comparable or therapeutically equivalent
17 courses of treatment.
18 (5) The rate at which the drug is deemed to produce successful outcomes
19 when used to treat the conditions for which it is most commonly prescribed.
20 (6) Any other objectively quantifiable factors as the committee determines
21 to be relevant to evaluating the significance of the availability of the drug in
22 Louisiana.
23 C. The department may also consider recommendations for drugs to be
24 included in the list submitted by government agencies, members of the public, and
25 professional organizations representing the pharmaceutical industry, healthcare
26 practitioners, pharmaceutical manufacturers, managed care plans, prescription drug
27 benefit managers, and other insurers.
28 D. The list developed pursuant to this Section shall be reviewed and updated
29 by the department at least once every three years.
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HLS 26RS-933 ORIGINAL
HB NO. 918
1 §2255.3. Manufacturer reporting
2 For each prescription drug that the department places on the critical
3 prescription drug list pursuant to R.S. 40:2255.12, the department shall require the
4 manufacturer of the drug to report the following information to the department:
5 (1) Total cost of production and approximate cost of production per dose.
6 (2) Research and development costs of the drug including but not limited to
7 all of the following:
8 (a) Research and development costs that are paid with public funds.
9 (b) After-tax research and development costs paid by the manufacturer.
10 (c) Research and development costs paid by third parties.
11 (3) Marketing and advertising costs for the drug, apportioned by marketing
12 activities that are directed to consumers, marketing activities that are directed to
13 prescribers, and the total cost of all marketing and advertising that is directed
14 primarily to Louisiana consumers and prescribers.
15 (4) The prices for the drug that are charged to purchasers outside the United
16 States, by country, for a representative set of countries determined by the
17 department.
18 (5) Prices charged to typical Louisiana purchasers including but not limited
19 to all of the following:
20 (a) Pharmacies.
21 (b) Pharmacy chains.
22 (c) Pharmacy wholesalers.
23 (d) Other direct purchasers.
24 §2255.4. Rulemaking; enforcement
25 A. The secretary of the department shall adopt any rules and regulations
26 necessary to implement the provisions of this Subpart.
27 B. The failure of a manufacturer to provide the information required by this
28 Subpart shall constitute a prohibited practice under the Unfair Trade Practices and
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1 Consumer Protection Law, R.S. 51:1401 et seq., and shall be subject to the
2 enforcement provisions of that Chapter.
3 §2255.15. Confidentiality
4 A. Information reported to the department pursuant to R.S. 40:2255.3 shall
5 not be deemed to be a public or government record. The information shall be kept
6 confidential and shall be exempt from disclosure.
7 B. Any public reporting of information submitted pursuant to R.S. 40:2255.3
8 shall be aggregated to protect the financial, competitive, or proprietary nature of the
9 information.
10 §2255.6. Report to the legislature
11 A.(1) The department shall prepare an annual report on prescription drug
12 prices and their role in overall healthcare spending in the state based on the data
13 submitted to the department pursuant to R.S. 40:2255.3 and in accordance with R.S.
14 40:2255.15.
15 (2) The department shall identify and include in the report a list of those
16 prescription drugs that have a cost in Louisiana that is excessively high when
17 compared with the cost of the drug in other states and countries and when compared
18 with the overall cost of researching, developing, and producing the drug in light of
19 the number of years the drug has been made available for distribution.
20 (3) The department may include in the report recommendations for actions
21 to lower prescription drug costs and spending across the state while maintaining
22 access to and the quality of health care.
23 B. The department shall submit the report to the House and Senate
24 committees on health and welfare no later than sixty days prior to the start of the
25 regular legislative session. The department shall also make the report publicly
26 available on the website of the Louisiana Department of Health.
27 §2255.7. Disclosure of prescription drug price information; educational or
28 marketing materials; minimum content; violations
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HLS 26RS-933 ORIGINAL
HB NO. 918
1 A. Any person engaging in any form of prescription drug marketing directly
2 to a healthcare provider with the intent that the provider may prescribe the drug for
3 use by his patients shall include price information in the materials.
4 B. The price information required by Subsection A of this Section shall
5 include, at a minimum, all of the following:
6 (1) The date that the educational or marketing materials were prepared.
7 (2) The name of the drug and of the current manufacturer.
8 (3)(a) The average wholesale acquisition cost of a thirty day supply of the
9 drug described in the materials as of the date the educational or marketing materials
10 were prepared.
11 (b) If the described drug is designed to be administered for a duration of
12 therapy of less than thirty days, the proposed duration and wholesale acquisition cost
13 for that period of time as of the date the educational or marketing materials were
14 prepared.
15 (c) The disclosure of the wholesale acquisition cost shall account for each
16 labeled indication and reflect any differences as a result of different strengths and
17 dosage forms approved for sale.
18 (4) The date that the drug was first marketed in the United States and the
19 wholesale acquisition cost as of that date.
20 (5) The wholesale acquisition cost on each date that the price of the drug has
21 changed since the drug was first marketed in the United States.
22 C.(1) The disclosures required by this Section shall be made on a form and
23 in a manner prescribed by the Louisiana Department of Health.
24 (2) The completed form shall be provided to the healthcare provider at the
25 same time and in the same manner as any other marketing materials provided to the
26 provider. If the marketing activities are performed telephonically, then the form
27 shall be sent to the healthcare provider by mail or electronically within one business
28 day of the marketing activity.
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HLS 26RS-933 ORIGINAL
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1 D. A violation of any provision of this Section shall constitute a prohibited
2 practice under the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, R.S.
3 51:1401 et seq., and shall be subject to the enforcement provisions of that Chapter.
4 E. The Louisiana Department of Health shall adopt, pursuant to the
5 Administrative Procedure Act, R.S. 49:950 et seq., any rules and regulations
6 necessary to implement and enforce the provisions of this Section.
7 Section 2. R.S. 44:4.1(B)(27) is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
8 §4.1. Exceptions
9 * * *
10 B. The legislature further recognizes that there exist exceptions, exemptions,
11 and limitations to the laws pertaining to public records throughout the revised
12 statutes and codes of this state. Therefore, the following exceptions, exemptions, and
13 limitations are hereby continued in effect by incorporation into this Chapter by
14 citation:
15 * * *
16 (27) R.S. 40:3.1, 31.14, 31.27, 39.1, 41, 73, 95, 96, 526, 528, 973.1, 978.2.1,
17 1007, 1061.21, 1079.18, 1081.10, 1105.6, 1105.8, 1125.14, 1133.8, 1168.3, 1171.4,
18 1203.4, 1231.4, 1379.1.1(D), 1379.3, 2009.8, 2009.14, 2010.5, 2017.9, 2018, 2018.5,
19 2019, 2020, 2106, 2109.1, 2138, 2175.7(B)(1), 2193.6, 2255.15, 2532, 2845.1.
20 * * *
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 918 Original 2026 Regular Session Galle
Abstract: Provides relative to prescription drug costs.
Proposed law requires the La. Dept. of Health (department) to develop and maintain a list
of critical prescription drugs for which there is substantial public interest in understanding
pricing.
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HLS 26RS-933 ORIGINAL
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Proposed law requires the department to consider specified factors when developing the list,
including cost to public healthcare programs, in-state pricing, usage rates, availability of
alternatives, treatment outcomes, and other measurable factors.
Proposed law allows the department to consider recommendations from government
agencies, the public, and healthcare and pharmaceutical stakeholders when creating the list.
Proposed law requires the department to review and update the critical prescription drug list
at least every three years.
Proposed law requires manufacturers of drugs placed on the critical prescription drug list to
report detailed information to the department, including production costs, research and
development costs, marketing and advertising costs, foreign pricing, and prices charged to
Louisiana purchasers.
Proposed law authorizes the department to adopt rules to implement these reporting
requirements and provides that failure to report constitutes a violation of the Unfair Trade
Practices and Consumer Protection Law.
Proposed law provides that manufacturer reported information is confidential, exempt from
public records disclosure, and may only be publicly reported in aggregated form.
Proposed law requires the department to prepare and submit an annual report to the
legislature analyzing prescription drug prices and identifying drugs with excessively high
costs compared to other jurisdictions and overall development costs.
Proposed law authorizes the department to include recommendations in the annual report to
reduce prescription drug costs while maintaining access and quality of care.
Proposed law requires the annual report to be submitted to the legislature.
Proposed law requires any person marketing a prescription drug directly to a healthcare
provider to disclose specified price information in educational or marketing materials.
Proposed law specifies the minimum price disclosures required, including wholesale
acquisition cost information, marketing dates, pricing history, and manufacturer information.
Proposed law requires disclosures to be provided in a form prescribed by the department and
delivered at the same time and in the same manner as the marketing materials.
Proposed law provides that violations of the drug price disclosure requirements constitute
prohibited practices under the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.
Proposed law adds the confidentiality provision for reported drug pricing information to the
list of exceptions under the public records law.
(Amends R.S. 40:2255.1 and R.S. 44:4.1; Adds R.S. 40:2255.2-2255.7 )
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