LINCOLN — A Nebraska lawmaker will seek a federal waiver next year for Nebraska’s planned partnership with an Iowa nonprofit for a new prescription drug donation program. State Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward led Legislative Bill 1035 through Nebraska’s 2024 session to partner with SafeNetRx in Iowa. The bill passed the final round of voting 47-0. The nonprofit collects, inspects and distributes non-expired and safe medications to patients at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.

LB 1035 changed Nebraska law to allow the nonprofit to distribute medications to Nebraska pharmacists, who could previously donate to SafeNetRx but couldn’t receive medications back. “LB 1035 will give a second life to much of the many tons of medication that is currently being collected and incinerated each year in our state,” Hughes said in a recent Facebook post, referring to state law to destroy unused meds to keep them out of water systems or landfills.

The program needs a waiver because of concerns about the federal Drug Supply Chain Security Act of 2013, which pressed pause on Hughes’ planned partnership before it could begin. The federal law, planned to be implemented over a decade, was designed to replace a patchwork of state laws for a chain of custody on medication that is addictive or has the potential for abuse. It also sought to prevent counterfeit products from entering the pharmaceutical supply chain.

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