Scanlon Lauds Committee Approval of Drug Price Bill

From CGA: Rep. Sean Scanlon (D-Guilford), House chairman of the legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee, praised his committee’s approval of legislation he introduced with state Comptroller Kevin Lembo that immediately saves consumer's money at their local pharmacy counter and creates groundbreaking transparency requirements for manufacturers of the drugs with large price increases.

“Prescription drug costs are the fastest rising cost in health care and consumers are rarely given an explanation when the costs of their drugs increase,” Scanlon said. “Under this legislation, my constituents will see immediate savings at the pharmacy and the transparency provisions within this bill will help us understand what is driving these large increases and ultimately help us lower health care costs for Connecticut seniors and families.”

House Bill 5384, An Act Concerning Prescription Drug Costs, also requires disclosure of essential information about rebates and deals between drug manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers to ensure that consumers get relief at the pharmacy counter. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives.

“As if the consumer cost at the counter wasn’t enough, most of us are paying massive, often inexplicable, drug price markups without even realizing it – through our insurance premiums, our taxes and in the cost of doing business with any employer,” Lembo said. “I’m grateful to the committee – and particularly Rep. Scanlon, for his leadership – for recognizing the importance of this legislation.”

In addition, the bill requires:

1. New reporting from manufacturers on “pipeline” drugs awaiting FDA approval to allow the state and other payers to better prepare for new market entrants.
2. Any Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) registered to operate in Connecticut to disclose the total amount of rebates received from manufacturers, including how much of the rebate the PBM retained versus how much was passed down to plan sponsors and consumers. They must also report their administrative fees, including any other payments by the manufacturer to the PBM that are not considered rebates.
3. The Office of Health Strategy to release an annual report summarizing the information reported from manufacturers and PBMs as described above in a form and manner that protects company specific proprietary information.
4. Consumers to get immediate relief at the pharmacy counter – paying post-rebate costs instead of a drug’s list price when in their deductible or paying coinsurance for a prescription drug.

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