Bill Commons

DE SB 271

enacted

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PHARMACY BENEFITS MANAGERS.

Delaware · 2025-2026 Regular Session (153rd General Assembly) · upper

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Quick answers

Did DE SB 271 pass?

Yes. DE SB 271 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-09-08): Signed by Governor

What is DE SB 271 about?

This Act strengthens procedural protections for pharmacies, pharmacists, and consumers related to regulation of a pharmacy benefits manager by doing all of the following: Adds definitions for the terms “chronic or long-term condition”, “net amount”, “purchaser”, “recoupment”, “similarly situated contracted pharmacy”, and “wholesale invoice audit.” Applies audit notice requirements uniformly and ensures access to an appropriate point of contact. Requires a pharmacy benefits manager to provide a list of records that the auditing entity seeks to audit at least 5 business days before an audit. Limits activities to once every 12 months and sets standards for wholesale invoice audits. Ensures audit costs are borne solely by the pharmacy benefits manager. Clarifies that a pharmacy can appeal the amount of any reimbursement and that a contracted pharmacy’s representative can take actions and receive notices related to appeals on behalf of a pharmacy. Extends pharmacies’ ability to appeal from 10 days to 40 days to account for entities that complete retroactive billing. When an appeal is denied, requires the parties to provide a detailed reason for the denial and specific information about how the pharmacy can appeal the denial to the Department of Insurance. Prohibits retaliation by a pharmacy benefits manager when a pharmacist or pharmacy discloses information to a government agency or during a proceeding if the person who disclosed the information had reasonable cause to believe that the disclosed information is evidence of a violation of a state or federal law. Requires that a pharmacy benefits manager must provide at least 60 days’ notice before amending a contract with a pharmacy or pharmacist. Clarifies that the prohibition against spread pricing applies to all purchasers contracting with pharmacy benefits managers. Changes the reporting requirements for rebates so that pharmacy benefits managers must file the required reports annually instead of quarterly. This change will reduce the amount of incorrect or unclear reporting because rebates are aggregated and reported at the end of the period of time under each contract. Amends national drug acquisition cost compliance to refer to the date of service. Prohibits pharmacy benefit managers from unit-of-use requirements inconsistent with smallest package size availability and manufacturer recommendations. Requires that pharmacy benefit managers may not require pharmacies to dispense therapeutically equivalent or alternative drugs that cost the enrollee more out of pocket than the prescribed drug except for medical reasons. Ensures that enrollee-identifiable or prescriber-identifiable information is not transferred to or shared with affiliated pharmacies for any commercial purpose other than those defined. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Who sponsors DE SB 271?

Spiros Mantzavinos, Madinah Wilson-Anton, Cyndie Romer and 9 others are the primary sponsors of DE SB 271.

Description

This Act strengthens procedural protections for pharmacies, pharmacists, and consumers related to regulation of a pharmacy benefits manager by doing all of the following: Adds definitions for the terms “chronic or long-term condition”, “net amount”, “purchaser”, “recoupment”, “similarly situated contracted pharmacy”, and “wholesale invoice audit.” Applies audit notice requirements uniformly and ensures access to an appropriate point of contact. Requires a pharmacy benefits manager to provide a list of records that the auditing entity seeks to audit at least 5 business days before an audit. Limits activities to once every 12 months and sets standards for wholesale invoice audits. Ensures audit costs are borne solely by the pharmacy benefits manager. Clarifies that a pharmacy can appeal the amount of any reimbursement and that a contracted pharmacy’s representative can take actions and receive notices related to appeals on behalf of a pharmacy. Extends pharmacies’ ability to appeal from 10 days to 40 days to account for entities that complete retroactive billing. When an appeal is denied, requires the parties to provide a detailed reason for the denial and specific information about how the pharmacy can appeal the denial to the Department of Insurance. Prohibits retaliation by a pharmacy benefits manager when a pharmacist or pharmacy discloses information to a government agency or during a proceeding if the person who disclosed the information had reasonable cause to believe that the disclosed information is evidence of a violation of a state or federal law. Requires that a pharmacy benefits manager must provide at least 60 days’ notice before amending a contract with a pharmacy or pharmacist. Clarifies that the prohibition against spread pricing applies to all purchasers contracting with pharmacy benefits managers. Changes the reporting requirements for rebates so that pharmacy benefits managers must file the required reports annually instead of quarterly. This change will reduce the amount of incorrect or unclear reporting because rebates are aggregated and reported at the end of the period of time under each contract. Amends national drug acquisition cost compliance to refer to the date of service. Prohibits pharmacy benefit managers from unit-of-use requirements inconsistent with smallest package size availability and manufacturer recommendations. Requires that pharmacy benefit managers may not require pharmacies to dispense therapeutically equivalent or alternative drugs that cost the enrollee more out of pocket than the prescribed drug except for medical reasons. Ensures that enrollee-identifiable or prescriber-identifiable information is not transferred to or shared with affiliated pharmacies for any commercial purpose other than those defined. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Introduced
2026-03-26
Latest action
2026-09-08 — Signed by Governor
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Sponsors

  • Spiros Mantzavinosprimary
  • Madinah Wilson-Antonprimary
  • Cyndie Romerprimary
  • Eric Morrisonprimary
  • Ray Seigfriedprimary
  • Stell Parker Selbyprimary
  • John "Jack" Walshprimary
  • Claire Snyder-Hallprimary
  • Laura V. Sturgeonprimary
  • Bryant L. Richardsonprimary
  • David P. Sokolaprimary
  • Nicole Pooreprimary

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-09-08

    Signed by Governor

    executive-signature

  2. 2026-06-24

    Passed By House. Votes: 40 YES 1 ABSENT

    passage

  3. 2026-06-16

    Reported Out of Committee (Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce) in House with 1 Favorable, 9 On Its Merits

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  4. 2026-06-10

    Assigned to Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce Committee in House

    introduction,referral-committee

  5. 2026-06-09

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT

    passage

  6. 2026-06-09

    Amendment SA 1 to SB 271 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT

    amendment-passage

  7. 2026-06-09

    Amendment SA 1 to SB 271 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

    amendment-introduction

  8. 2026-05-21

    Reported Out of Committee (Executive) in Senate with 6 On Its Merits

    committee-passage

  9. 2026-03-26

    Introduced and Assigned to Executive Committee in Senate

    introduction,referral-committee

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • SM

    2026-06-09 · pass · 20-0

    Member-level votes (21)
    • Darius J. Brown: other
    • Eric Buckson: yes
    • Daniel Cruce: yes
    • Stephanie L. Hansen: yes
    • Gerald W. Hocker: yes
    • Kyra L. Hoffner: yes
    • Russell Huxtable: yes
    • Dave G. Lawson: yes
    • S. Elizabeth Lockman: yes
    • Spiros Mantzavinos: yes
    • Trey Paradee: yes
    • Brian Pettyjohn: yes
    • Marie Pinkney: yes
    • Nicole Poore: yes
    • Bryant L. Richardson: yes
    • Ray Seigfried: yes
    • David P. Sokola: yes
    • Laura V. Sturgeon: yes
    • Bryan Townsend: yes
    • John "Jack" Walsh: yes
    • David L. Wilson: yes
  • SM

    2026-06-24 · pass · 40-0

    Member-level votes (41)
    • Alonna Berry: yes
    • Stephanie T. Bolden: yes
    • Frank Burns: yes
    • William Bush: yes
    • William J. Carson: yes
    • Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha: yes
    • Richard G. Collins: yes
    • Franklin D. Cooke: yes
    • Daniel B. Short: yes
    • Timothy D. Dukes: yes
    • Mara Gorman: yes
    • Ronald E. Gray: yes
    • Krista Griffith: yes
    • Kerri Evelyn Harris: yes
    • Debra Heffernan: yes
    • Kevin S Hensley: yes
    • Jeff Hilovsky: yes
    • Valerie Jones Giltner: yes
    • Kendra Johnson: yes
    • Kimberly Williams: yes
    • Kamela T Smith: yes
    • Larry Lambert: yes
    • Sean M. Lynn: yes
    • Michael F. Smith: yes
    • Melissa Minor-Brown: yes
    • Shannon Morris: yes
    • Eric Morrison: yes
    • DeShanna U Neal: yes
    • Josue O Ortega: yes
    • Edward S. Osienski: yes
    • Sophie Phillips: other
    • Charles S Postles Jr.: yes
    • Cyndie Romer: yes
    • Melanie Ross Levin: yes
    • Sherae'a Moore: yes
    • Bryan W. Shupe: yes
    • Claire Snyder-Hall: yes
    • Jeffrey N. Spiegelman: yes
    • Jesse R. Vanderwende: yes
    • Madinah Wilson-Anton: yes
    • Lyndon D. Yearick: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-09-12T06:12:39.675219Z

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