Maryland House of Delegates OKs bill to create a prescription drug price board for government employees

From The Baltimore Sun

By Pamela Woods

March 27, 2019

The Maryland House of Delegates approved Wednesday a bill that would create a state board to set limits on how much state and local governments pay for medicines for their employees and retirees.

The bill was approved largely along party lines on a 98-40 vote, moving the measure to the state Senate for consideration.

But advocates for the bill said the revised version — affecting only county and state governments — is a good first step, as state and local governments insure large numbers of current and retired workers.

DeMarco’s group lined up support from several county executives, who testified for the bill and appeared in radio and TV ads.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America criticized the bill, saying the board’s review processes might lead to delays in patients being able to have access to drugs.

“The proposal unfairly targets Maryland state, county and other employees by leaving their access to critical treatment options in doubt,” Nick McGee, a spokesman for PhRMA, said in a statement.

McGee said that “insurers and other middlemen” often set drug prices and determine which drugs are available to patients — not the manufacturers.

Under the bill, a five-member Prescription Drug Affordability Board would review drugs including: new brand-name drugs that would cost a patient more than $30,000 per year, existing brand-name drugs with a price increase of more than $3,000 per year, existing generic drugs with a price increase of more than 200 percent per year, and any other drug that creates “affordability challenges.”

Starting in 2021, the drug board could set limits on drug prices paid by state and local government insurance plans. In 2023, the drug board would recommend to the General Assembly whether the board’s authority should be expanded to all Marylanders.