# Montana HB 794: Revise pharmacy laws Montana HB 794, Revise pharmacy laws, is a 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) House bill sponsored by Curtis Schomer (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-05-19 (Chapter Number Assigned); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB794-2025 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Montana HB 794 - State: Montana - Session: 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) - Title: Revise pharmacy laws - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-02-26 - Last action: 2025-05-19, Chapter Number Assigned - Sponsor: Curtis Schomer (Republican) - Cosponsors: 2 - Subjects: Health Care Services, Professions and Occupations O-Z - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 4 (294 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 14 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - More covered care in state and university plans: benefit, high. State and Montana university group plans cover more services. Well‑child visits from birth through age 7 have no deductible and include routine shots. Dependents stay on the plan until age 26 at renewal. Diabetes care is stronger: at least twenty 30‑minute training visits at the start, then at leas… - Cheaper drug options and local price matching: benefit, medium. Pharmacists may substitute a lower‑cost equivalent drug or interchangeable biologic and must tell you so you can refuse. Your prescriber can block substitution by marking medical necessity. If your group plan uses an out‑of‑state mail‑order pharmacy, you can fill at a Montana pharmacy at no extra c… - Broader roles for pharmacists and prescribers: benefit, medium. Pharmacists can do more under state law. They can start or change drug therapy under collaborative agreements, prescribe under state rules, compound, and carry out prescriber orders. A pharmacist may get a clinical pharmacist practitioner endorsement to manage drug therapy and order tests under a c… - Health coverage help for public safety families: benefit, medium. If a covered peace officer, game warden, firefighter, or volunteer firefighter dies on duty, the spouse or dependents may renew coverage with the same benefits and premiums as similar members. For a law enforcement officer who is catastrophically injured in the line of duty and loses employment, th… - More vaccines at your pharmacy: benefit, medium. Immunization‑certified pharmacists can give flu shots to people 12+, and pneumococcal and Tdap shots to people 18+, without a doctor agreement. They may give the shingles vaccine to people who meet CDC guidelines. Pharmacists can vaccinate people age 7 and up under CDC guidance if covered in a coll… - Cancer drug donation program terms: benefit, low. The law defines how a cancer drug donation program works. Approved doctors, pharmacies, hospitals, or clinics can accept donated cancer drugs and dispense them to qualified patients. A qualified patient is uninsured, indigent, or cannot afford needed cancer drugs. Board‑approved provisional communi… - Know cancer screening coverage before enrolling: benefit, low. Before a group plan is issued, the insurer must give you written materials that explain what cancer screenings the plan covers. This helps you compare plans and avoid surprise costs. - Stricter licensing and tracing for drug distributors: cost, medium. Wholesale distributors, third‑party logistics providers, manufacturers, and repackagers must follow board and federal rules. They must pay board‑set license fees. They must keep at least two years of records, and maintain storage, insurance, and security. They must list active principals and keep i… - Pharmacy techs must be registered: cost, low. It is illegal to assist in pharmacy practice without registration. People who help in a pharmacy must register with the Board as pharmacy technicians. Pharmacies must use registered technicians. - Keep coverage after you leave service: mixed, medium. Retiring members, certain defined contribution members with at least 5 years of service and age 50, and surviving spouses or children may stay in the group plan until Medicare. Spouses of retired members keep the same continuation rights and may convert a group policy; a spouse may continue even if… - Broader oversight of drug and device supply: mixed, medium. The Board now licenses wholesale drug distributors, third‑party logistics providers, and people who dispense animal prescription drugs. Wholesale standards also apply to prescription devices. The law broadens who counts as a manufacturer, including some partners and affiliates. People who only disp… - New rules for out-of-state and telehealth pharmacies: mixed, medium. Any mail‑order pharmacy outside the state that serves residents must register with the Board of Pharmacy. It must share service details and meet the same technician‑use rules as in‑state pharmacies. The Board also sets rules so out‑of‑state pharmacies can register to provide pharmacy care by telehe… - Stricter licenses and no patient sales: mixed, medium. Drug and device buyers must purchase only from wholesale distributors. Distributors, 3PLs, manufacturers, and repackagers cannot sell or ship directly to patients unless they also hold a dispensing license. Companies must hold the proper state license to act in these roles, and the board may requir… - Wholesale rules aligned with FDA standards: mixed, low. The law updates key definitions to match federal rules. It defines repackagers, adds devices to wholesale rules, and adopts the federal “prescription device” definition. It clarifies what is not “distribution,” defines wholesale as a sale for resale, and recognizes FDA‑registered outsourcing facili… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Curtis Schomer (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Gregg Hunter (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Kenneth Bogner (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-04-18 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 50 | 0 | | | 2025-04-17 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 47 | 0 | | | 2025-03-07 | House | Do Pass | pass | 99 | 0 | | | 2025-03-06 | House | Do Pass | pass | 98 | 0 | | ## Actions (25) - 2025-05-19: Chapter Number Assigned (House) - 2025-05-13: Signed by Governor (House) - 2025-05-07: Transmitted to Governor (House) - 2025-05-06: Signed by President (Senate) - 2025-05-02: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2025-04-24: Returned from Enrolling (House) - 2025-04-18: Sent to Enrolling (House) - 2025-04-18: 3rd Reading (Senate) - 2025-04-17: 2nd Reading (Senate) - 2025-03-28: Committee Report (Senate) - 2025-03-28: Committee Executive Action (Senate) - 2025-03-24: Hearing (Senate) - 2025-03-19: Referred to Committee (Senate) - 2025-03-14: 1st Reading (Senate) - 2025-03-07: Transmitted to Senate (House) - 2025-03-07: 3rd Reading (House) - 2025-03-06: 2nd Reading (House) - 2025-03-03: Committee Report (House) - 2025-03-03: Committee Executive Action (House) - 2025-03-03: Hearing (House) - 2025-03-01: Hearing (House) - 2025-02-27: Hearing (House) - 2025-02-26: 1st Reading (House) - 2025-02-26: Referred to Committee (House) - 2025-02-26: Introduced (House) ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2025-04-22: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=af7dea34-d491-40b5-836d-a724bd0e6c4b) - Introduced, 2025-02-26: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=70c81e7e-6861-441d-8cfa-d1690060b69f) ## Related bills - SB 437: Revise definition of sex in Montana law (signed) - HB 831: Increase elderly homeowner and renter income tax credit (vetoed) - HB 628: Revise early literacy targeted intervention laws (vetoed) - SB 410: Provide for Montana genomic security act (vetoed) - SB 422: Generally revise laws relating to insurance coverage relating to cancer (vetoed) - SB 424: Revising the disabled veteran property tax assistance program (vetoed) ## Sources - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=af7dea34-d491-40b5-836d-a724bd0e6c4b) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=70c81e7e-6861-441d-8cfa-d1690060b69f) ## Related - [SB 437: Revise definition of sex in Montana law](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB437-2025) - [HB 831: Increase elderly homeowner and renter income tax credit](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB831-2025) - [HB 628: Revise early literacy targeted intervention laws](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB628-2025) - [SB 410: Provide for Montana genomic security act](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB410-2025) - [SB 422: Generally revise laws relating to insurance coverage relating to cancer](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB422-2025) - [SB 424: Revising the disabled veteran property tax assistance program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB424-2025) - [Montana bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/montana/bills) - [Montana state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/montana) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB794-2025 (as of 2026-10-12).