Northeastern lawmakers seek to reduce drug costs

ALBANY, N.Y. – Northeastern states, including Maine, drew closer Friday to using their combined market clout to reduce the cost of prescription drugs.

Senators and representatives from Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut met in Albany in the latest meeting of The Northeast Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices which seeks regional price controls.

The association is trying to set up a coalition to negotiate cheaper drug prices with drug companies through a purchasing pool.

“I think the [prescription drug] industry has done a good job of raising some confusion among consumer groups,” said the group’s executive director, former Vermont state Sen. Cheryl Rivers.

“God knows the cost of prescription drugs is driving everybody crazy,” said Connecticut Sen. Edith Prague. Bills to control prescription drug prices are pending in many of the states, including Connecticut.

“The ultimate purpose of the bill is to offer prescription drugs at the Medicaid price,” Prague said of her state’s proposal.

Other initiatives advocated by the lawmakers include working with doctors, pharmacists and consumers to ensure that cheaper generic alternatives to name-brand patented drugs are more widely prescribed.

An association committee is also studying a program that would require drug makers to give rebates if they want to be on the states’ lists of preferred drugs. The association said the committee, made up of doctors, lawyers, and representatives from each of the eight states, should have a report ready for its next meeting, in Washington, D.C.

Three member states – New York, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania – were not represented by lawmakers at the meeting Friday.