Vermont § 3613 - Enforcement

§ 3613. Enforcement

• (a) The Commissioner of Financial Regulation shall enforce compliance with the provisions
  of this chapter. (b)(1) The Commissioner may examine or audit the books and records of a pharmacy benefit
  manager providing claims processing services or other prescription drug or device
  services for a health benefit plan to determine compliance with this chapter. (2) Information or data acquired in the course of an examination or audit under subdivision
  (1) of this subsection shall be considered proprietary and confidential, shall be
  exempt from public inspection and copying under the Public Records Act, shall not
  be subject to subpoena, and shall not be subject to discovery or admissible in evidence
  in any private civil action. (3)(A) In order to protect and promote patients’ and consumers’ interests in accordance with
  the Office’s duties under chapter 229 of this title, the Office of the Health Care
  Advocate shall have the right to receive and review in full, including any exhibits,
  attachments, appendices, or other supplementary materials, all of the following: (i) the preliminary report of any examination conducted by or on behalf of the Commissioner
  under this section; (ii) the pharmacy benefit manager’s submissions or rebuttals to the report, if any; (iii) the final examination report adopted by the Commissioner; and (iv) the Commissioner’s order adopting the final examination report. (B) The Office of the Health Care Advocate shall not further disclose any confidential
  or proprietary information provided to the Office pursuant to this subdivision (3).
  Information provided to the Office pursuant to this subdivision (3) shall not be subject
  to subpoena and shall not be subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any
  private civil action. (c) The Commissioner may use any document or information provided pursuant to subsection
  3612(c) or (d) of this chapter in the performance of the Commissioner’s duties to
  determine compliance with this chapter. (d) The Commissioner may impose an administrative penalty on a pharmacy benefit manager
  or the health insurer with which it is contracted, or both, for a violation of this
  chapter in accordance with 8 V.S.A. § 3661. (Added 2023, No. 127 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2024.)