The bill establishes the Colorado Drug Donation Program to allow unused, unexpired prescription medications to be donated and redispensed to individuals in need, especially those who are indigent, uninsured, underinsured, or enrolled in public health benefit programs.
Key Provisions
Donors may include individuals, health care facilities, pharmacies, government agencies, and others legally authorized to possess medicine.
Eligible patients are primarily low-income individuals but may include others if no need is found among priority groups.
Acceptable medicine includes most prescription drugs (including refrigerated items), but excludes compounded drugs, controlled substances, and certain high-risk medications.
Donation recipients must record and inspect donations, maintain storage and labeling protocols, and may redispense only if the medicine is safe and unused.
Repackaging and Redistribution must meet safety standards and be approved by a licensed pharmacist.
Donated drugs may not be resold, but donation recipients can charge a fee to cover handling and administrative costs.
Liability protection is granted for all good-faith participants (donors, recipients, pharmacists, etc.) acting without negligence or misconduct.
Cross-state participation is permitted for registered entities under compatible drug donation programs in other states.
Oversight and Rules will be developed by the State Board of Pharmacy with an emphasis on minimal recordkeeping necessary for patient safety.
Impact The program expands access to medications for underserved populations while reducing pharmaceutical waste. It ensures safe handling, transparency, and legal protections for participants.
Summary
The bill amends statutory provisions relating to unused medication
in facilities, including correctional facilities, nursing care facilities, assisted living residences, hospice, and other facilities, to change the defined term medication to medicine and to expand the types of unused medicines that may be redispensed to patients or donated to a nonprofit entity.
The bill creates the Colorado drug donation program (donation
program). The donation program allows a person legally authorized to possess medicine, including an individual member of the public, a pharmacy, a long-term care facility, a surgical center, a prescriber or other health-care professional or facility, or others (donor) to donate unused medicine (donated medicine).
A donor may donate unused medicine to a donation recipient
(donation recipient) that is authorized to possess medicine and that has a credential in good standing in the state in which the donation recipient is located. A donation recipient may include a wholesaler, distributor, third-party logistics provider, repackager, hospital, pharmacy, clinic, health-care provider, or prescriber's office.
The bill requires the donation recipient to: •
Keep a record of the donated medicine;
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Keep donated medicine separate from regular stock; and
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Have donated medicine inspected by a licensed pharmacist.
The donation recipient may transfer the donated medicine to
another donation recipient or entity, repackage the donated medicine, or, if the donation recipient is a prescription drug outlet, replenish medicine.
The bill requires donated medicine to first be dispensed to an
eligible patient who is an individual who is indigent, uninsured, underinsured, or enrolled in a public health benefits program. Donated medicine must not be resold; except that a donation recipient may charge a handling or dispensing fee for the donated medicine.
When acting in good faith, the participants in the donation
program are not subject to criminal liability or professional disciplinary action.
