A new cap on drug prices in the governor’s health reform plan will protect patients from unexpected cost increases while allowing for innovation in the state’s bioscience sector, Gov. Ned Lamont argued at a news conference today.
Lamont and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker spoke out for their similar drug-pricing plans in the joint event, saying the proposed caps will narrowly focus on significant price increases in drugs that have been on the market for years or decades. The caps won’t discourage bioscience companies from inventing new drugs and growing in the Northeast, they said.
“Together we can make a difference and show the rest of the country how to make drug pricing a lot more predictable for those who need it,” Lamont said. “This is the beginning of something that’s incredibly important.”
Drug companies would be penalized if a price increase exceeds the consumer price index for older and generic drugs under the plan, part of Lamont’s reform proposal. Known as Governor’s Bill No. 6447, the reform plan has advanced out of committee and is awaiting further legislative action. Any penalties collected would go into health insurance subsidies for residents.
“This is a very thoughtful bill that makes good sense,” Lamont said. “Nothing’s going to discourage ongoing innovation going forward,” he added, addressing the many criticisms of the drug-pricing plan from business and industry groups.
Baker said that an earlier drug-pricing cap enacted as part of an effort to control Medicaid costs has saved Massachusetts $100 million by allowing the state to directly negotiate with 13 manufacturers on the prices of 36 drugs. More rebates are in the pipeline, he added.
Major drug companies have called out Lamont by name in an ad campaign that started running soon after the governor released his plan.
“Governor Ned Lamont is targeting [drug] companies with a dangerous proposal that would enact government price-setting on life-saving medicines and potentially slow the type of innovation patients need,” stated the campaign by Voters For Cures, sponsored by the industry group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
“[Lamont’s] policies could have detrimental impacts on access to prescription medicines and the development of new treatments and therapeutics,” the ad stated, urging citizens to contact the governor’s office to oppose drug price controls.
Among the companies represented by the effort is AstraZeneca, which last month affirmed its plans to acquire New Haven’s Alexion Pharmaceuticals in a $39 billion deal expected to be completed by the third quarter of this year.
Other drug-company executives have spoken out against the drug-pricing plan in op-eds and in testimony on the governor’s reform bill.
Both governors said they hoped their plans would inspire other states and the federal government to tackle drug prices, a major driver of healthcare costs nationwide.
Groton resident Jay Gironimi spoke at the press conference of the punishing struggle to pay for his cystic fibrosis medications, one of which costs $300,000 a year.
“The ever-rising cost of these medications terrifies me,” Geronimi said. “[The governors’] plans could quite literally make me breathe easier.”
