White Bagging, Brown Bagging & Other Prescription Drug Laws

Bagging refers to the way that specialty drugs are being delivered to a patient. White bagging is when a specialty pharmacy sends the drugs directly to the provider who will administer the drug. Brown bagging is when the patient goes to the specialty pharmacy to pick up the drug or gets the drug delivered to them, and then the patient brings the drug to the provider for administration. Site of service provisions refer to the location where specialty drugs are being administered to a patient.

StateType of State LawSummary of State Law
ALABAMAProhibits white bagginghttps://legiscan.com/AL/text/SB227/2021A pharmacy benefits manager cannot make a person buy pharmacy services only from a mail-order pharmacy or the pharmacy benefits manager's affiliate as a condition to get reimbursed.
ALASKA
ARIZONA
ARKANSASProhibits site of service provisions (only for hematology/oncology diagnoses)https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2021R%2FPublic%2FACT1105.pdfA health care payor cannot make a person self-administer medicine if the provider should be the one giving it. When a health care provider determines that the provider should administer the medication, the health insurance company must pay for the cost of the medicine and its administration, even if it's not usually covered in the plan. A health care payor cannot prevent or limit a person from choosing an in-network pharmacy or pharmacist, as long as the pharmacist follows the terms of the manager's contract.
CALIFORNIA
COLORADO
CONNECTICUT
DELAWARE
*DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
FLORIDAProhibits white bagginghttp://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0600-0699/0626/Sections/0626.8825.htmlA pharmacy benefits manager cannot limit a patient's network to only affiliated pharmacies or require a patient to get the medication through the mail. For the in-person administration of the medication, a pharmacy benefits manager cannot require a patient to receive pharmacist services from an affiliated pharmacy or affiliated health care provider.
GEORGIA
HAWAII
IDAHO
ILLINOIS
INDIANA
IOWA
KANSAS
KENTUCKY
LOUISIANAProhibits white bagginghttps://legiscan.com/LA/text/SB191/2021A health insurance company cannot deny coverage or charge more for a physican-administered medicine if the physician provides the medicine from an out-of-network pharmacy.
MAINE
MARYLAND
MASSACHUSETTS
MICHIGAN
MINNESOTAProhibits brown bagging and site of service provisionshttps://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/2023/0/Session+Law/Chapter/57/(1) A pharmacy benefits manager or insurance company cannot require a specialty pharmacy to provide a physician-administered drug to the patient for transport to the provider for administration of the drug and (2) a pharmacy benefit manager, health carrier, health care provider, or pharmacist cannot require and cannot deny the use of home infusion or use of another site for infusion for a phyician-adminstered drug when clinically appropriate.
MISSISSIPPI
MISSOURI
MONTANA
NEBRASKA
NEVADA
NEW HAMPSHIRE
NEW JERSEY
NEW MEXICO
NEW YORK
NORTH CAROLINA
NORTH DAKOTAProhibits white bagging, brown bagging, and site of service provisionshttps://www.ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/documents/23-1064-04000.pdf(1) A pharmacy benefits manager cannot require the use of, or charge more for not using, a mail-order pharmacy or pharmacy benefits manager affiliate. (2) A pharmacy benefits manager cannot require a designated pharmacy to deliver a medication to the patient for the patient to transport to the provider for administration. (3) A pharmacy benefits manager cannot require a designated pharmacy to deliver a medication drectly to the provider for administration. (4) A pharmacy benefits manager cannot require the use of a home infusion pharmacy to deliver physician-adminstered drugs to the patient in the patient's home.
OHIO
OKLAHOMA
OREGON
PENNSYLVANIA
*PUERTO RICO
RHODE ISLAND
SOUTH CAROLINA
SOUTH DAKOTA
TENNESSEEProhibits white bagginghttps://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/112/pub/pc1070.pdfA pharmacy benefits manager cannot (1) stop a patient from choosing a pharmacy of their choice, as long as it follows the rules and (2) give money or other incentives to a patient to persuade them to use a pharmacy that benefits the pharmacy benefits manager
TEXASProhibits white bagging for patients with a "chronic, complex, rare, or life-threatening medical conditionhttps://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/HB01647F.pdf#navpanes=0Α health insurance company cannot (1) require a patient to get physician-administered drugs from only certain pharmacies or pharmacies in their network, (2) if the drug is covered, limit or deny coverage because the pharmacy is outside the health insurance company's network, and (3) charge a patient more due to their choice in pharmacy
UTAH
VERMONTProhibits white bagging and brown bagginghttps://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2022/Docs/ACTS/ACT131/ACT131%20As%20Enacted.pdfA pharmacy benefits manager cannot (1) require a pharmacy to give medicine to a patient for the patient to transport to the provider to be administered and (2) require a pharmacy deliver the medicine directly to a provider for administration
VIRGINIAProhibits brown bagging and sets standards for white bagginghttps://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title18/agency110/chapter20/section275/(1) A pharmacy cannot deliver drugs directly to a patient if the drugs are intended to be transported by the patient to a health care facility for adminstration (2) A pharmacy can send certain medicines to another pharmacy or to a specific person allowed by the law, like a physician, but there are rules about how this process can be done.
WASHINGTON
WEST VIRGINIA
WISCONSIN
WYOMING
*GUAM
Last Updated1/18/2024