Epinephrine for ambulances; therapeutic interchange for drug products prescribed to counteract anaphylaxis; funding for special education, the University of Wisconsin System, and the technical college system; and making an appropriation. (FE)

What it would have done

Summary by the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

This bill requires that the Department of Health Services reimburse ambulance service providers for a set of two epinephrine auto-injectors or a set of two draw-up epinephrine kits for each ambulance operating in the state. Under the bill, an ambulance service provider means an ambulance service provider that is a public agency, volunteer fire department, or nonprofit corporation. The bill also requires that, on an ongoing basis, DHS must, upon request, reimburse ambulance service providers for replacement sets of epinephrine auto-injectors or draw-up epinephrine kits. DHS may only reimburse ambulance service providers for epinephrine if each ambulance for which the ambulance service provider is reimbursed is staffed with an emergency medical service provider who is qualified to administer the epinephrine. The bill provides additional funding to the Department of Public Instruction for aids for special education and to the University of Wisconsin System and technical college system for purposes of maintaining compliance with maintenance of effort requirements of the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act and the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

Also, for drug products prescribed to counteract anaphylaxis, this bill allows, if certain conditions are met, a pharmacist to substitute a drug product with another drug product that would, in the opinion of the pharmacist, have a substantially equivalent therapeutic effect even though the substitute drug product is not a drug product equivalent. The bill also provides that a pharmacist who dispenses a drug product for a patient in a hospital may, for a drug product prescribed to counteract anaphylaxis, under the same conditions applicable for drug product equivalents under current law, substitute a drug product with another drug product that would, in the opinion of the pharmacist, have a substantially equivalent therapeutic effect even though the substitute drug product is not a drug product equivalent. Current law defines a “drug product equivalent” as a drug product that is designated the therapeutic equivalent of another drug product by the federal Food and Drug Administration as set forth in the latest edition of the supplement to the federal Food and Drug Administration's Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations , commonly known as the Orange Book. As with substitution of drug product equivalents under current law, the therapeutic substitutions allowed under the bill do not apply to biological products.

Who's behind it

5 senators are its authors⁠. All 5 are Democrats.

20 more lawmakers signed on in support⁠.

What it would cost

State agencies filed a cost estimate. Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

• Fiscal Estimate From DHS
• Fiscal Estimate From DPI
• Fiscal Estimate From UWS
• Fiscal Estimate From WTCS