Bill Positions

Bill Number: SB 1040

Bill Title: Prescription Confidentiality Act

Bill Sponsor(s): Sen. Lenett

Subject: Health Care

Committee: SRU

Bill Summary: This bill would have prohibited health insurance carriers, pharmacy benefits managers, and certain other companies from licensing, transferring, using or selling for any commercial purpose patient-identifiable or prescriber-identifiable information. The bill would also would have imposed fines and criminal penalties for violations.

History: In 2009 SB 417 died without a vote in the Finance Committee. In 2008 HB 50 was withdrawn by the sponsor. In 2007 similar legislation (SB 266) was opposed by the Chamber and received an unfavorable report in the Finance Committee. In 2010 SB 1040 died in the Finance Committee without a vote.

Chamber Position: Oppose

Position Summary: Limiting access to physician prescriber data will impede the ability of pharmaceutical manufacturers to conduct necessary research and notify physicians of new information regarding drug risks. Federal law, under HIPPA, already bans any use of patient identifiable information. The bill would have done nothing to improve the privacy of patient prescription data, while causing significant patient safety problems resulting from the loss of an efficient data collection and notification process.

Position Statement: To view the Chamber's complete position statement, click here (pdf).

Chamber Staff: Ronald Wineholt

General Assembly: Click here to view the bill on the Maryland General Assembly's website.