Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §3174-T, sub-§2, ķA, as reallocated by RR 1997, c. 2, §46, is amended to read:

A. The maximum eligibility level, subject to adjustment by the commissioner under paragraph B, is 185% 200% of the nonfarm income official poverty line.

Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §3174-T, sub-§11 is enacted to read:

11.__Drug rebate program.__Effective October 1, 1999, payment must be denied for drugs from pharmaceutical manufacturers that do not enter into a rebate agreement with the department for prescription drugs included in the list of approved drugs under this program.__Each agreement must provide that the pharmaceutical manufacturer make rebate payments to the department according to the following schedule.

A.__For the quarters beginning October 1, 1999, the rebate percentage is equal to the percentage recommended by the federal Health Care Financing Administration of the manufacturer's wholesale price for the total number of dosage units of each form and strength of a prescription drug for which providers of prescription drugs have been reimbursed by the department as recorded in a department report available to any interested party, provided payments are not due until 30 days following the manufacturer's receipt of utilization data supplied by the department, including the number of dosage units for which providers of prescription drugs are reimbursed during the period for which payments are due.

B.__Beginning October 1, 2000, the department shall seek to achieve an aggregate rebate amount from all rebate agreements that is 6 percentage points higher than that required by paragraph A of this subsection, provided such rebates result in a net increase in the rebate revenue available to the Cub Care program.__In the event the department is not able to achieve the rebate amount required by this paragraph without compromising the best interest of recipients of the Cub Care program, it shall report to the joint standing committees of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health and human services matters and over appropriations and financial affairs in the First Regular Session of the 120th Legislature.

Upon receipt of data from the department, the pharmaceutical manufacturer shall calculate the quarterly rebate payment.__If a discrepancy is discovered, the department may, at its expense,