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For purposes of this article:

“340B entity” means an entity participating in the federal 340B drug discount program, as described in 42 U.S.C. 256b, including its pharmacy or pharmacies, or any pharmacy or pharmacies, contracted with the participating entity to dispense drugs purchased through such program.

“Affiliate” means a pharmacy, pharmacist, or pharmacy technician which, either directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries: (A) Has an investment or ownership interest in a pharmacy benefits manager licensed under this chapter; (B) shares common ownership with a pharmacy benefits manager licensed under this chapter; or (C) has an investor or ownership interest holder which is a pharmacy benefits manager licensed under this article.

“Auditing entity” means a person or company that performs a pharmacy audit, including a pharmacy benefits manager, managed care organization, or third-party administrator.

“Business day” means any day of the week excluding Saturday, Sunday, and any legal holiday as set forth in 2-2-1 of this code.

“Claim level information” means data submitted by a pharmacy, required by a payor, or claims processor to adjudicate a claim.

“Covered individual” means a member, participant, enrollee, or beneficiary of a health benefit plan who is provided health care service coverage by a health benefit plan, including a dependent or other person provided health coverage through the policy or contract of a covered individual.

“Extrapolation” means the practice of inferring a frequency of dollar amount of overpayments, underpayments, nonvalid claims, or other errors on any portion of claims submitted, based on the frequency of dollar amount of overpayments, underpayments, nonvalid claims, or other errors actually measured in a sample of claims.

“Defined cost sharing” means a deductible payment or coinsurance amount imposed on an enrollee for a covered prescription drug under the enrollees health plan.

“Health benefit plan” or “health plan” means a policy, contract, certificate, or agreement entered into, offered, or issued by a health care payor to provide, deliver, arrange for, pay for, or reimburse any of the costs of health care services.

“Health care payor” or “payor” means a health insurance company, a health maintenance organization, a hospital, medical, or dental corporation, a health care corporation, an entity that provides, administers, or manages a self-funded health benefit plan, including a governmental plan, or any other payor that provides prescription drug coverages, including a workers compensation insurer. Health care payor does not include an insurer that provides coverage under a policy of casualty or property insurance.

“Health care provider” has the same meaning as defined in 33-41-2 of this code.

“Health insurance policy” means a policy, subscriber contract, certificate, or plan that provides prescription drug coverage. The term includes both comprehensive and limited benefit health insurance policies.

“Insurance commissioner” or “commissioner” has the same meaning as defined in 33-1-5 of this code.

“Network” means a pharmacy or group of pharmacies that agree to provide prescription services to covered individuals on behalf of a health benefit plan in exchange for payment for its services by a pharmacy benefits manager or pharmacy services administration organization. The term includes a pharmacy that generally dispenses outpatient prescriptions to covered individuals or dispenses particular types of prescriptions, provides pharmacy services to particular types of covered individuals or dispenses prescriptions in particular health care settings, including networks of specialty, institutional or long-term care facilities.

“Maximum allowable cost” means the per unit amount that a pharmacy benefits manager reimburses a pharmacist for a prescription drug, excluding dispensing fees and copayments, coinsurance, or other cost-sharing charges, if any.

“National average drug acquisition cost” means the monthly survey of retail pharmacies conducted by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to determine average acquisition cost for Medicaid covered outpatient drugs.

“Nonproprietary drug” means a drug containing any quantity of any controlled substance or any drug which is required by any applicable federal or state law to be dispensed only by prescription.

“Pharmacist” means an individual licensed by the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy to engage in the practice of pharmacy.

“Pharmacy” means any place within this state where drugs are dispensed and pharmacist care is provided.

“Pharmacy audit” means an audit, conducted by or on behalf of an auditing entity of any records of a pharmacy for prescription or nonproprietary drugs dispensed by a pharmacy to a covered individual.

“Pharmacy benefits management” means the performance of any of the following:

(1) The procurement of prescription drugs at a negotiated contracted rate for dispensation within the state of West Virginia to covered individuals;