Section 271. Pharmacy and therapeutics committee

1. There is hereby
  established in the department a pharmacy and therapeutics committee. The
  committee shall consist of seventeen members, who shall be appointed  by
  the  commissioner  and who shall serve three year terms; except that for
  the initial appointments to the committee, five members shall serve  one
  year terms, seven shall serve two year terms, and five shall serve three
  year  terms. Committee members may be reappointed upon the completion of
  their terms. No member of the committee shall  be  an  employee  of  the
  state  or  any  subdivision  of  the  state,  other  than for his or her
  membership on  the  committee,  except  for  employees  of  health  care
  facilities  or  universities  operated  by  the  state, a public benefit
  corporation, the State University of New York or municipalities.
    2. The membership shall be composed as follows:
    (a) six persons licensed and  actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of
  medicine in the state;
    (b)  one  person  licensed  and  actively  engaged  in the practice of
  nursing as a nurse practitioner, or in the practice of midwifery in  the
  state;
    (c)  six  persons  licensed  and  actively  engaged in the practice of
  pharmacy in the state;
    (d) one person with expertise in drug utilization review who is either
  a health care professional licensed under title eight of  the  education
  law, is a pharmacologist or has a doctorate in pharmacology; and
    (e)  three  persons  who  shall  be  consumers  or  representatives of
  organizations with a regional or statewide  constituency  and  who  have
  been  involved  in  activities related to health care consumer advocacy,
  including issues affecting Medicaid or EPIC recipients.
    3. The committee shall, at the request of the  commissioner,  consider
  any  matter  relating to the preferred drug program established pursuant
  to section two hundred seventy-two of this article, and may  advise  the
  commissioner or the panel thereon. The committee may, from time to time,
  submit to the commissioner or the panel recommendations relating to such
  preferred  drug  program.  The  committee  may also evaluate and provide
  recommendations to  the  commissioner  or  the  panel  on  other  issues
  relating to pharmacy services under Medicaid or EPIC, including, but not
  limited  to:  therapeutic  comparisons;  enhanced  use  of  generic drug
  products; enhanced targeting of physician  prescribing  patterns;  prior
  authorization  of  drugs  subject  to  the  clinical drug review program
  established  pursuant  to  section  two  hundred  seventy-four  of  this
  article;  fraud,  waste  and abuse prevention; negotiations for rebates;
  pharmacy  benefit  management  activity   by   an   administrator;   and
  negotiation of lower initial drug pricing.
    4. The committee shall elect a chairperson from among its members, who
  shall  serve  a  one year term as chairperson. The chairperson may serve
  consecutive terms.
    5. The members of the committee  shall  receive  no  compensation  for
  their  services  but  shall  be  reimbursed  for  expenses  actually and
  necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties.
    6. The committee shall be a public body under  article  seven  of  the
  public  officers  law  and subject to article six of the public officers
  law. In addition to the matters listed in section one  hundred  five  of
  the  public officers law, the committee may conduct an executive session
  for the purpose of receiving and  evaluating  drug  pricing  information
  related  to  supplemental  rebates,  or  receiving  and evaluating trade
  secrets,  or  other  information  which,  if  disclosed,   would   cause
  substantial injury to the competitive position of the manufacturer.
    7. Committee members shall be deemed to be employees of the department
  for  the  purposes  of section seventeen of the public officers law, and

  shall not participate in any matter for which  a  conflict  of  interest
  exists.
    8.   The  department  shall  provide  administrative  support  to  the
  committee.
    * NB Repealed June 15, 2012