Section 276-A. Prescription drug retail price lists

1. The department shall
  make  prescription  drug retail price lists of pharmacies, with the name
  and address of each pharmacy, available to the public in a  database  on
  its  website  at all times. The website shall enable consumers to search
  the database for drug retail prices of pharmacies selected by  zip  code
  of  the  pharmacy  and  other  appropriate  factors,  including enabling
  consumers to display and compare prices for one or more  selected  drugs
  as  well  as  for  the  full list. The website shall enable consumers to
  download and print displayed information. The website shall  accommodate
  reasonably  anticipated  and  actual  public  use  of  the database. The
  database shall display drug retail prices for the compendium of the  one
  hundred   fifty   most  frequently  prescribed  drugs  received  by  the
  department from the department of education  under  section  sixty-eight
  hundred twenty-six of the education law.
    2.  The  department  shall  extract pharmacy retail price information,
  showing the actual price  to  be  paid  to  the  pharmacy  by  a  retail
  purchaser  for  any  listed  drug  at  the listed dosage, from usual and
  customary price data collected by the medical assistance  program  under
  title  eleven  of  article  five  of  the social services law. Provided,
  however, that any  pharmacy  participating  in  the  medical  assistance
  program  shall  provide  the  usual and customary price data for the one
  hundred fifty most frequently prescribed drugs under section sixty-eight
  hundred twenty-six of the education law to the  department  through  the
  same mechanism that the usual and customary price data is received under
  the  medical  assistance program. If the department is unable to process
  such data, the pharmacy shall fax  or  electronically  transmit  to  the
  department  the usual and customary price data for the one hundred fifty
  most frequently  prescribed  drugs  under  section  sixty-eight  hundred
  twenty-six of the education law. The prescription drug retail price list
  database  shall  be  subject  to  and  conform with applicable state and
  federal    requirements,    including    those    concerning    privacy,
  confidentiality  and  use  of information. The commissioner shall seek a
  waiver  of  any  federal  requirement  necessary  for  development   and
  implementation  of  the database under this section. Upon implementation
  of this system, this section shall apply in place  of  any  inconsistent
  provision  of  section  sixty-eight  hundred twenty-six of the education
  law.  The  prescription  drug  retail  price  list   database   on   the
  department's website shall list a pharmacy's price information extracted
  under this subdivision as the pharmacy's retail price for each drug. The
  department shall update the prescription drug retail price list at least
  weekly  using  the  most  recent  retail  price  for  each drug for each
  pharmacy as reasonably practicable.
    2-a. Pharmacies which do not provide usual and customary price data in
  the manner specified in subdivision two of this section  shall  transmit
  the  drug  retail  price  list  compiled pursuant to section sixty-eight
  hundred twenty-six of the education law to the department  in  a  manner
  and  frequency  prescribed  by  the  department and the department shall
  extract the usual and customary price data information  from  such  drug
  retail  price  list;  provided  that  the  commissioner  may  exempt any
  category of pharmacy not required  to  compile  such  list  pursuant  to
  section sixty-eight hundred twenty-six of the education law.
    3.   The   prescription   drug  retail  price  list  database  on  the
  department's  website  shall  contain  an  advisory  statement  by   the
  department  alerting  consumers  of  the  need to tell their health care
  practitioner and pharmacist about all the medications they may be taking
  and to ask them how to avoid harmful interactions between the drugs,  if
  any.  A  pharmacy  may  submit  to  the  department  a  brief statement,
  acceptable  to  the  department,  to  be  included  on  the  website  in

  conjunction   with   the   pharmacy's  prescription  drug  retail  price
  information: (a) concerning discounts from its listed retail prices that
  may be available to consumers and (b) any limitations that the  pharmacy
  may have as to what group or groups of customers it serves.
    4.  In  developing and implementing the prescription drug retail price
  list database system, the department may  seek  and  shall  receive  the
  assistance of the departments of education and law.
    5.   The   commissioner  shall  provide  an  interim  progress  report
  concerning efforts to develop and implement the  database  system  under
  this  section not later than January thirty-first, two thousand six. The
  report shall include a  projected  completion  date,  a  description  of
  obstacles  to development and implementation of the database system, and
  an estimate of the costs to complete the implementation of the  database
  system.
    6.  As used in this section, "pharmacy" means any place in which drugs
  or prescriptions are possessed for the purpose of retailing, or in which
  drugs or prescriptions are retailed, or in which drugs or  prescriptions
  are by advertising or otherwise offered for sale at retail.