In this year’s legislative session, the National MS Society in Indiana joined a broad coalition of patient advocacy organizations in support of step therapy reform legislation, Senate Bill 41 (now Public Law 19 2016). Health plans use step therapy (also known as “fail first”) to require patients to first try and fail medications preferred by the health plan, before patients are allowed access to the medication originally prescribed by their healthcare provider.  Requiring people with MS to try and fail multiple medicines can delay their access to optimal treatment, including necessary medications, and may lead to worse health outcomes.
 
The new law would provide a transparent, accessible process to ensure that patients and their healthcare providers can seek an exception to a health plan’s step therapy protocol, and override step therapy when it is medically inappropriate for the patient. Senate Bill 41 became effective on July 1st, and Indiana now joins other states that have passed similar legislation this year, including Illinois, Missouri, New York and West Virginia.