STOCKING OF CERTAIN DRUGS IN PHARMACIES

HB0137

HOUSE BILL 137

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Elizabeth "Liz" Thomson

AN ACT

RELATING TO OPIOIDS; REQUIRING RETAIL PHARMACIES TO KEEP STOCKS
OF CERTAIN TYPES OF DRUGS THAT TREAT OPIOID USE DISORDER;
REQUIRING WHOLESALE DRUG DISTRIBUTORS TO REPORT INSTANCES IN
WHICH THE DISTRIBUTORS DO NOT FILL ORDERS FOR BUPRENORPHINE
MADE BY RETAIL PHARMACIES; REQUIRING REPORTS; PROVIDING
PENALTIES; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1.
A new section of the New Mexico Drug, Device
and Cosmetic Act is enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] BUPRENORPHINE STOCKING REQUIREMENTS.--

A. At least once every thirty days, a retail
pharmacy that stocks controlled substances shall compute the
retail pharmacy's minimum daily buprenorphine stocking
requirement by determining the average amount of buprenorphine
dispensed to ultimate users per day in the previous thirty
days, rounding to the nearest milligram. A retail pharmacy
that is not a community-based pharmacy shall maintain a stock
of buprenorphine sufficient to satisfy the minimum daily
buprenorphine stocking requirement, plus at least three
additional prescriptions for buprenorphine, including at least
one prescription for buprenorphine that is a buprenorphine
monoproduct and one prescription for buprenorphine that is a
buprenorphine-naloxone combination product. A retail pharmacy
that is a community-based pharmacy shall maintain a stock of
buprenorphine that is at least equal to either the pharmacy's
minimum daily buprenorphine stocking requirement plus one
additional prescription for buprenorphine or two prescriptions
for buprenorphine, whichever is greater. A retail pharmacy
that fails to satisfy the stocking requirements of this section
is not in violation of this section if the retail pharmacy
takes any of the following actions within three days of failing
to satisfy the stocking requirements:

(1) ordering a replacement stock of
buprenorphine sufficient to satisfy the stocking requirements
of this section; or

(2) requesting a wholesale drug distributor to
increase the retail pharmacy's allotment of buprenorphine, and:

(a) once the wholesale drug distributor
approves the request, ordering a replacement stock of
buprenorphine within three days of receiving the approval; or

(b) the wholesale drug distributor
denies the request.

B. A retail pharmacy shall maintain records of the
retail pharmacy's minimum daily buprenorphine stocking
requirements. Records shall be maintained for a period of at
least three years from the date of the record and may be
inspected as required by authorized agents of the board.

C. A wholesale drug distributor shall report to the
board on a monthly basis, in a form and manner prescribed by
the board, each instance in which the wholesale drug
distributor:

(1) denied, in whole or in part, an order for
buprenorphine submitted by a retail pharmacy;

(2) delayed an order for buprenorphine
submitted by a retail pharmacy due to the retail pharmacy's
threshold of buprenorphine; or

(3) denied a request by a retail pharmacy to
increase the retail pharmacy's threshold of buprenorphine.

D. A report submitted by a wholesale drug
distributor pursuant to this subsection shall include:

(1) the name of the retail pharmacy affected;

(2) the date on which the retail pharmacy
submitted the order for buprenorphine or requested an increase
to the retail pharmacy's threshold of buprenorphine;

(3) the date on which the wholesale drug
distributor denied or delayed the retail pharmacy's order for
buprenorphine or denied the requested increase in the retail
pharmacy's threshold of buprenorphine;

(4) the reason the wholesale drug distributor
denied or delayed the retail pharmacy's order for buprenorphine
or denied the requested increase in the retail pharmacy's
threshold of buprenorphine; and

(5) any other information required by the
board.

E. The board shall submit data gathered pursuant to
this section to the department of health. The department of
health shall analyze the data and publish a biannual report on
access to buprenorphine in retail pharmacies. The report shall
include:

(1) information on the frequency with which
each wholesale drug distributor:

(a) denied a retail pharmacy's order for
buprenorphine;

(b) delayed a retail pharmacy's order
for buprenorphine due to the retail pharmacy's threshold of
buprenorphine; or

(c) denied a retail pharmacy's requested
increase in the retail pharmacy's threshold of buprenorphine;

(2) aggregated data on the reasons reported by
wholesale drug distributors for denying a retail pharmacy's
order for buprenorphine or a request by a retail pharmacy to
increase the retail pharmacy's threshold of buprenorphine; and

(3) any other information that the department
of health deems appropriate.

F. Reports published pursuant to Subsection E of
this section shall not include information that could identify
individual retail pharmacies and shall comply with state and
federal privacy and confidentiality laws, rules and
regulations.

G. When the board or the department of health is
required by law, including the Inspection of Public Records
Act, to disclose information gathered pursuant to this section,
the board or the department of health shall redact information
gathered pursuant to Subsection C of this section that could
identify an individual retail pharmacy.

H. The board may impose the following penalties on
retail pharmacies that violate this section:

(1) for a first or second violation, notice of
the violation that includes information on the requirements to
comply with this section;

(2) for a third violation within a thirty-six-month period, a directed plan of correction to help the retail
pharmacy remain compliant with the requirements of this
section; and

(3) for a fourth violation or any subsequent
violation within a thirty-six-month period following the
previous violation, a fine not to exceed two thousand five
hundred dollars ($2,500).

I. The board may impose the following penalties on
wholesale drug distributors that violate this section:

(1) for a first violation, notice of the
violation that includes information on the requirements to
comply with this section; and

(2) for a second violation or any subsequent
violation within a thirty-six-month period following the
previous violation, a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars
($10,000).

J. A retail pharmacy shall not be penalized for a
violation of this section if the violation is solely
attributable to the action of a wholesale drug distributor. A
retail pharmacy may conclusively establish that a violation of
this section is solely attributable to the action of a
wholesale drug distributor by demonstrating compliance with
Paragraph (1) or (2) of Subsection A of this section.

K. As used in this section:

(1) "buprenorphine" means the drug
buprenorphine, including any official, generic or chemical name
used to describe buprenorphine prescribed for the treatment of
opioid use disorder;

(2) "community-based pharmacy" means a retail
pharmacy that is:

(a) open to the public for prescriptions
to be filled, regardless of the facility or practice where the
prescription was written; and

(b) not: 1) government-owned; 2)
hospital-owned; 3) owned by a corporation that owns hospitals;
4) an extension of a medical practice or special facility; 5)
owned by a corporate chain of pharmacies with stores outside of
the state; or 6) a mail-order pharmacy;

(3) "minimum daily buprenorphine stocking
requirement" means the average number of milligrams of
buprenorphine dispensed to ultimate users by a retail pharmacy
per day over a thirty-day period, in formulations, dosages and
brand names consistent with the prescriptions for buprenorphine
dispensed to ultimate users by the retail pharmacy during the
thirty-day period;

(4) "prescription for buprenorphine" means

sufficient buprenorphine in tablet or film form to provide a
patient with twenty-four milligrams per day for two weeks;

(5) "retail pharmacy" means a pharmacy
physically located, and licensed to dispense drugs, in the
state;

(6) "ultimate user" means a person who
lawfully possesses buprenorphine for the person's own use or
for the use of a member of the person's household; and

(7) "wholesale drug distributor" means a
person licensed to engage in the wholesale distribution of
prescription drugs in the state."

SECTION 2.
APPROPRIATION.--One million five hundred
thousand dollars ($1,500,000) is appropriated from the general
fund to the health care authority for expenditure in fiscal
year 2027 to increase medicaid reimbursement rates for
buprenorphine prescriptions. Any unexpended balance remaining
at the end of fiscal year 2027 shall revert to the general
fund.

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