Adopted

AMENDMENT NO 1 PROPOSED TO

Cmte Sub for Senate Bill No. 2354

BY: Senator(s) Turner-Ford

     AMEND by inserting the following new Section 6 and renumbering subsequent sections accordingly:

SECTION 6.  (1)  A task force is established to conduct a study of alternative funding programs and their effect on patient access to affordable prescription drugs in Mississippi.  The task force shall consist of the members of the Mississippi Rare Disease Advisory Council or their designees.

     (2)  The council's physician member shall chair the task force, and the council staff shall provide the task force with administrative support.

     (3)  A majority of the members of the task force constitutes a quorum, and all actions of the task force shall require a majority vote of the members present and voting.

     (4)  The chair shall convene the first meeting by May 15, 2025. Members shall serve without compensation but may receive travel reimbursement per Section 25-3-41.

     (5)  The study shall assess: (a) Alternative funding programs and their effect on patient access to affordable prescription drugs; and (b) The impact of those programs on patient assistance programs for prescription medications and insurance coverage.

     (6)  The task force shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations by December 1, 2025, to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Lieutenant Governor, the House and Senate Chairs of the Public Health Committees, and the House and Senate Chairs of the Medicaid Committees.

     (7)  The task force shall be dissolved upon submission of its report.

     AMEND, FURTHER the title by inserting the following language after the semicolon on line 15:

TO CREATE A TASK FORCE TO STUDY ALTERNATIVE FUNDING PROGRAMS AND THEIR EFFECT ON PATIENT ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE PRESCRIPTION DRUGS IN MISSISSIPPI;