A.  Upon the sale of prescription drugs and pharmacist services, a pharmacy or pharmacist shall be responsible for collecting any sales and use tax levied by a local political subdivision of this state and for remitting the amount of such tax to the levying authority.  It shall be the responsibility of the health insurance issuer to reimburse the pharmacy or pharmacist the amount of such tax in certain cases in which health insurance coverage for prescription drugs and pharmacist services exists, depending on the terms and conditions of the insured’s agreement with its member or insured.  All contracts executed by a health insurance issuer after January 1, 2009, which includes health insurance coverage for prescription drugs and pharmacist services shall clearly define the responsibility of the health insurance issuer or the health insurance issuer’s member or insured for the payment of local taxes on the sale of prescription drugs and pharmacist services.  Upon receipt of an electronic transaction from a pharmacy indicating the sale of a prescription drug or the rendering of the pharmacist services and specifying the amount of any sales and use tax, a health insurance issuer or its agent shall advise the pharmacy electronically of the applicable sales and use tax to be reimbursed to the pharmacy.

B.  For purposes of this Section, the following terms shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1)  “Health insurance coverage” means benefits consisting of prescription drugs, other products and supplies, and pharmacist services provided directly, through insurance or reimbursement, or otherwise and including items and services paid for as prescription drugs, other products and supplies, and pharmacist services under any hospital or medical service policy or certificate, hospital or medical service plan contract, preferred provider organization agreement, or health maintenance organization contract offered by a health insurance issuer.

(2)  “Health insurance issuer” means any entity that offers health insurance coverage through a policy, contract, or certificate of insurance subject to state law that regulates the business of insurance.  A health insurance issuer shall include but not be limited to a health maintenance organization as defined and licensed pursuant to Part XII of Chapter 2 of Title 22 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, unless preempted as an employee benefit plan by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

(3)  “Pharmacist services” means the filling and dispensing of prescription drugs or providing products and supplies, drug therapy, and other patient care services provided by a licensed pharmacist with the intent of achieving outcomes related to the cure, prevention, or management of a disease, elimination or reduction of a patient’s symptoms, or arresting or slowing of a disease process.

Acts 2008, No. 582, §1, eff. June 30, 2008.