Section 623-C:2 Medical Services for State Prisoners.


   I. (a) Except as provided in subparagraphs (b) through (d), the department of corrections or its agent shall pay health care facilities and hospitals 110 percent of the Medicare allowable rate for inpatient, outpatient, or emergency room care provided for prisoners in state correctional facilities. In this chapter, ""health care facilities'' mean ambulatory and specialty-medical services centers licensed under RSA 151, and shall include but not be limited to surgical, rehabilitation, long term, oncology, and dialysis centers, but shall not include physician practices and community health care clinics.
      (b) Allowances provided by hospitals shall qualify as community benefits under RSA 7:32-d, III(b).
      (c) The commissioner of the department of corrections may waive the application of subparagraph (a) if the commissioner determines such action is necessary to ensure prisoner access to medically necessary care.
      (d) The commissioner of the department of corrections may waive the application of subparagraph (a) if the commissioner determines such action to be necessary for the efficient operations of the state correctional facility.
   II. Nothing in this section shall preclude the commissioner of the department of corrections from having the discretion to negotiate and execute medical service rate agreements with hospitals or health care facilities for the provision of medical services to state prisoners at the lowest rate possible, or utilizing rates in existing agreements.
   III. Pharmacists shall substitute generically equivalent drug products for all legend and non-legend prescriptions paid for by the department of corrections, including the medicaid program, unless the prescribing practitioner specifies that the brand name drug product is medically necessary. Such notification shall be in the practitioner's own handwriting and shall be retained in the pharmacist's file. The commissioner of the department of corrections may waive the application of RSA 623-C:2, I if the commissioner determines such action is necessary to ensure the availability of prescription and other pharmaceutical services to persons served by the state or to avert serious economic hardship in the provision of prescriptions and other pharmaceutical services.

Source. 2004, 218:1, eff. June 11, 2004. 2009, 144:264, eff. Aug. 28, 2009.