Flemming Fellow Leads the Country For Fair Prescription Drug Prices

On May 11, Governor Angus King signed a bill that makes Maine the first state to take progressive action to lower the price of prescription drugs for all uninsured residents. Senate Majority Leader Chellie Pingree (Flemming Fellow ’96) was the bill’s primary sponsor and advocate. The legislation directs the state government to use its bulk purchasing power to negotiate steep discounts and pass the savings on to those who have no prescription drug insurance coverage, including retirees who rely on Medicare. This innovative legislation addresses a crisis threatening the health of millions of Americans—soaring prices for prescription drugs. Many Americans, especially seniors, are currently forced to risk their health by sharing drugs, skipping doses, or doing without medicine altogether because it is just too expensive. The new Maine law would bring retail drug prices in line with the discounted prices received by state programs, health insurance companies and HMOs. Specifically, the new Maine law will: Provide a Maine prescription card (Maine Rx) to all residents who do not have prescription drug coverage under a public or private health insurance plan; Give the state government the responsibility to negotiate rebates from drug companies and discounts from drug retailers, and then pass the savings along to Maine Rx participants; Determine by January 2003 whether Maine Rx drug prices are reasonably comparable to the lowest price available in the state, and if not, the state will set maximum prices for prescription drugs by July 1, 2003; and Impose penalties of up to $100,000 per violation on drug manufacturers and marketers who "profiteer" by charging excessive prices or restricting the supply of drugs to the state. Through Senator Pingree’s tireless efforts to reach a bipartisan consensus, a compromise was reached with Governor King, an Independent, and with the Republican leadership. The Senate vote on this landmark legislation was unanimous. The vote in the House was 133 to 11. House GOP Leader Thomas W. Murphy, Jr. praised the bill for providing relief from high drug prices and emphasized the trend-setting significance of the bill. "We hope that other states will follow our lead and that Congress will recognize this as a national problem…." Governor King said the drug industry’s charges that Maine was "anti-business" were "utter nonsense." He added, "I’ll be surprised if many other states don’t follow this lead." CPA is playing a leadership role, helping legislators and citizen organizations across the country with policy approaches to make prescription drugs affordable. StateAction.org Links: State of Maine model bill and additional briefing materials Media Advisory: Multi-State Effort to Lower Prescription Drug Prices Playing Fair: State Action to Lower Prescription Drug Prices (PDF) — New CPA publication