General Assembly Gets Early Start on Biopharma Legislation

Elected officials often remark that the issue raised most often by constituents is the cost of healthcare. 

It’s not surprising therefore that the 2025 General Assembly session got off to an early start this past December with the Human Services Committee’s establishment of the Prescription Drug Task Force.

Prescription Drug Task Force

The task force has more than 75 members (legislators, and representatives from industry and patient groups) and four subcommittees. It is co-chaired by Sen. Matt Lesser (D-Middletown), Sen. Jeff Gordon (R-Woodstock), Rep. Jillian Gilchrest (D-West Hartford), and Rep. Tracy Marra (R-Darien).

Task force subcommittees address a wide range of issues: (1) drug pricing and the 340B drug discount program; (2) patient protection, rare diseases and innovation; (3) pharmacy benefit manager practices; and (4) drug importation, medicine shortages, and pharmacy practices and concerns.

Task force and subcommittee meetings have been more presentations on certain policy issues, with issues and presenters chosen by the Human Services Task Force co-chairs, than deliberative among the wider membership.

Nevertheless, when its meetings conclude in mid-February, task force findings are likely to be the basis of significant 2025 healthcare legislation.

General Assembly Bills

In addition to whatever legislation emerges from the task force, 121 biopharma-related bills are already before the General Assembly.

Many of the most potentially consequential bills are in concept form, with specific language still to be drafted.

Apart from the core biopharma-specific bills, 21 bills address vaccination, with many establishing exemptions to vaccination requirements.

In addition, 16 bills relate to business taxation and the tax treatment of R&D expenses.

The biopharma bills likely to receive a great deal of attention and potentially achieve consideration by the full House and Senate include:

• SB 11: Prescription Drug Access and Affordability. Still in concept form, SB 11 aims to increase: (1) access to affordable prescription drugs; and (2), Medicaid reimbursement rates for health care providers and services.
• SB 7: Protections for Access to Healthcare and the Equitable Delivery of Healthcare Services. Also still in concept form, SB 7 would “protect continued access to health care services in the state that may be affected by changes in federal law.” Aimed at addressing potential changes in federal law, this bill could also be a conduit for other healthcare reform measures.
• SB 188: State-Operated Reinsurance Program and the Regulation of Healthcare Cost Growth. This bill establishes a state-run reinsurance program and a task force to study the impact of prescription drug “spread pricing,” and requires the Office of Health Strategy to institute a prescription drug benchmarking program.
• SB 2: Artificial Intelligence. A concept to protect “consumers from algorithmic discrimination and unfair treatment posed by artificial intelligence.” We are monitoring this bill closely to insure that carveouts/exemptions for biopharma R&D and clinical trials are adequate.

PBMs

At least six bills address PBM regulation:

• SB 446: Pharmacy Benefits Manager Reform. Prohibits and otherwise highly regulates many PBM practices, including barring post-transaction fees and “claw backs,” requiring pass-through of rebates to patients, “decoupling” PBM compensation from medication costs, a prohibition on fees based on formulary placement, barring prioritization of more expensive medications. The bill also gives the Attorney General oversight of PBM operations. This bill is identical to SB 758.
• SB 458: Authorizing the Office of the Attorney General to Investigate and Initiate Legal Proceedings in Response to Alleged Price Gouging by the Insurance, Pharmaceutical, Pharmacy Benefit Management, and Utility Sectors. Authorizes the Office of the Attorney General to initiate state action against insurance, pharmaceutical, pharmacy benefit management, or utility sector if they are found to be engaging in price gouging.
• SB 820: Establishing a Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing Owed by Pharmacy Benefits Managers.
• SB 821: Pharmacy Benefits Manager Reform and Price Gouging in the Healthcare Sector. Involves comprehensive regulation of PBMs, including prohibitions on many PBM practices (e.g., post-transaction fees, fees for formulary placement, non-disclosure of pricing information). Similar to/expands on SB 446 and SB 758. The bill also gives the Attorney General oversight of PBM operations.
• SB 1011: Regulating Rebates by Pharmacy Benefits Managers. Requires PBM pharmacy rebates to be calculated at point of sale on net price of prescription drugs.
• SB 1048: Healthcare Access and Affordability. Increases Medicaid reimbursement rates, addresses medical debt, regulates PBM practices, brings greater transparency to the impact of vertical integration in the healthcare system, and regulates private equity acquisition of healthcare facilities.

Disclosure/Prohibitions

Four bills involve new disclosure requirements:

• SB 436: Cost Transparency in Legend Drug Advertisements. Requires each legend drug advertisement to disclose the portion of the drug’s cost attributable to the advertising expense.
• SB 152: Adopting the Human Cell Product Labeling Act. Requires a product developed or tested with human cells to include warning/labeling information regarding disclosure of cell origin.
• HB 5175: Prescription Drug Costs. This bill requires pharmacists to notify customers of, and apply all available discounts for, any prescription drug.
• HB 6097: Prescription Drug Discount Transparency. Requires PBMs, pharmacies, insurers, and hospitals to report the cost charged to a consumer for any discounted drug to the Office of Health Strategy.

Two bills bar direct-to-consumer advertising:

• HB 5270: Prohibiting Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertisements.
• HB 6062: Prohibiting Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertisements.

Genetic Information

SB 146, AA Prohibiting Certain Sales of Consumers’ Genetic Information, though still in concept form prohibits the sale of consumers’ genetic information to third parties.

Medical Devices

• SB 433: Certification and Regulation of Medical Device Representatives. This proposal is in concept form and provides for the certification and regulation of medical device representatives. A similar bill came before the Public Health Committee in 2024 and had little support.
• SB 1055: Role and Responsibilities of Medical Device Representatives. Regulates the role and responsibilities of medical device representatives who set up and attend surgical procedures.

Coverage/Reimbursement Rates

• SB 162: Equitable Payment Rates for Durable Medical Equipment, Supplies, and Complex Rehabilitation Technology. Adjusts Medicaid payment rates for durable medical equipment, orthotics, prosthetics and supplies, and complex rehabilitation technology.
• SB 196: Limiting Changes to Prescription Drug Formularies for Psychiatric Prescription Drugs. Concept aimed at limiting health carriers’ movement, or removal, of a psychiatric prescription drug from a formulary or cost-sharing tiers during a policy term.
• SB 391: Requiring Health Insurance Coverage for Biomarker Testing. Mandates that individual and group health insurance policies provide coverage for biomarker testing. This bill is identical to SB 554.
• SB 439: Requiring Medicaid Coverage for Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplants and FDA-Approved Gene Therapists to Treat Sickle Cell Disease. Provides Medicaid coverage for FDA approved bone marrow and stem cell transplants and gene therapy to treat sickle cell disease.
• SB 554: Requiring Health Insurance Coverage for Biomarker Testing. Identical to SB 391.
• SB 813: Limiting the Use of Step Therapy for Patients with Disabling or Life-Threatening Chronic Disease.
• HB 6355: Requiring Health Insurance Coverage for Biomarker Testing. This bill, like SB 391 and SB 554, requires individual and group health insurance policies provide coverage for biomarker testing.

Funding/R&D Tax Policy

In addition to several bills that involve capital gains tax surcharges, anathema to the venture capital community, SB 385, SB 742, SB 922, HB 5153, HB 5541, HB 5771 enhance funding or tax policy to encourage early-stage biotech companies to commence operations and growth in Connecticut:

• SB 124: Increasing the Bond Authorization for the Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund. Increases the bond authorization for the Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund by $25 million.
• SB 736: Research and Development Tax Credits for Biotechnology Companies. Increases the R&D tax credit exchange rate for biotech companies to 100% of R&D expenditures and establishes a tax credit for R&D expenses of pass-through entities.
• SB 923: Research and Development Tax Credit Exchange Rate for Biotechnology Companies. Similar to SB 736, SB 923 increases the R&D tax credit exchange rate to 100% for biopharma companies.

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Paul Pescatello is the executive director of CBIA’s Bioscience Growth Council and chair of We Work for Health Connecticut. Follow him on X @CTBio.