(1) Beginning January 1, 2021, the maximum amount a health carrier or pharmacy benefit manager may require a person to pay at the point of sale for a covered prescription medication is the lesser of:

(a) The applicable cost sharing for the prescription medication; or

(b) The amount the person would pay for the prescription medication if the person purchased the prescription medication without using a health plan.

(2) A health carrier or pharmacy benefit manager may not require a pharmacist to dispense a brand name prescription medication when a less expensive therapeutically equivalent generic prescription medication is available.

(3) For purposes of this section, "pharmacy benefit manager" has the same meaning as in *RCW 19.340.010.

*Reviser's note: RCW 19.340.010 was repealed by 2020 c 240 s 19, effective January 1, 2022. For later enactment, see RCW 48.200.020.