Nebraska lawmaker seeks federal waiver for prescription drug donation program with Iowa nonprofit

By Nebraska Examiner via TN Content Exchange

LINCOLN — A Nebraska lawmaker will seek a federal waiver next year to exempt Nebraska’s planned partnership with an Iowa nonprofit for a new prescription drug donation program.

State Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward led Legislative Bill 1035 through Nebraska’s 2024 session to partner with SafeNetRx in Iowa. The bill passed the final round of voting 47-0. The nonprofit collects, inspects and distributes non-expired and safe medications to patients at or below 200% of the federal poverty.

LB 1035 changed Nebraska law to allow the nonprofit to distribute medications to Nebraska pharmacists, who could previously donate to SafeNetRx but couldn’t receive medications back.

“LB 1035 will give a second life to much of the many tons of medication that is currently being collected and incinerated each year in our state,” Hughes said in a recent Facebook post, referring to state law to destroy unused meds to keep them out of water systems or landfills.

However, the federal Drug Supply Chain Security Act of 2013 put a pause on Hughes’ planned partnership before it was able to begin.

The federal law, planned to be implemented over a decade, was designed to replace a patchwork of state laws for a chain of custody on medication that is addictive or has the potential for abuse.

It also sought to prevent counterfeit products from entering the pharmaceutical supply chain.

Hughes said there was uncertainty about whether the federal law would affect prescription drug donation programs because the supply chain ends when a drug is dispensed.

“The DCSA is ambiguous on its impact on donation programs and with no guidance forthcoming, Iowa, Nebraska and other states are scrambling to provide legislative fixes to exempt their prescription drug donation programs from this federal requirement,” a one-page explanation from Hughes’ office reads.

Hughes said Iowa has a waiver process that allows various programs to continue on a temporary basis when impacted by new federal laws or rules, before a permanent legislative fix is in place.

Nebraska does not have that automatic process, however, and will require specific legislation in 2025.

“While I am frustrated by this development,” Hughes said on Facebook, “I am thankful that it came before our prescription drug donation program was fully implemented and we have the opportunity to address it in January.”

Hughes and State Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston were among a group of Nebraskans who toured SafeNetRx in October 2023 and saw the multimillion-dollar program in action.

SafeNetRx has multiple layers of inspections and checks donations to confirm whether the medications are:

Sealed in tamper-evident packaging.

Non-expired.

Non-controlled substances.

Pharmacists also must confirm that medications do not require refrigeration and show no signs of tampering or deterioration.

Hughes is working with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services on the 2025 fix and, upon request from the Governor’s Office, her new bill will seek to allow broad access to the drug donation program in cases of emergencies, as declared by the governor.

“We could use those medications not just for people underinsured or uninsured but for everybody, if necessary,” Hughes told the Nebraska Examiner. “I think it’s smart. It’s good forethought.”

Legislation can be introduced in the first 10 days of Nebraska’s 2025 session, which begins Jan. 8.