SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 94C of the General Laws, as most recently amended by section 10 of chapter 186 of the acts of 2024, is hereby further amended by inserting after the definition of “Bureau” the following definition:-

“Chain pharmacist”, as defined in subsection (d) of section 22 of chapter 13.

SECTION 2. Said chapter 94C is hereby amended by inserting after section 22 the following section:-

Section 22A. A chain pharmacist may transfer a prescription to another pharmacy within the same pharmacy chain if: (i) the prescription is for medication currently out of stock at the original pharmacy; (ii) the transfer is for the same medication and dosage as prescribed on the original prescription; (iii) the prescription is still valid and not expired; (iv) the pharmacy receiving the transferred prescription has the medication in stock as of the time of transfer; (v) the transfer of the prescription does not exceed the original quantity prescribed; and (vi) the patient is informed of the transfer and consents to having their prescription filled at a different pharmacy location within the same chain. A chain pharmacist may provide a 60-day or 90-day extension for the prescription being transferred, if they deem such extension necessary.

SECTION 3. Section 17 of chapter 118E of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding following paragraph:-

A recipient shall not be required to make any payment for a nongeneric drug that is found, pursuant to this section, to be medically necessary or for which no substitution is available.