Maine Rx program blueprint for nation

Leaders in Washington have talked extensively about how to make prescription drugs more accessible and more affordable. Right now in Congress there are hundreds of proposals supposedly aimed at lowering the high cost of prescription drugs. Unfortunately, the majority of these proposals will not provide the comprehensive relief Mainers need – most of them are merely Band-Aid solutions that will offer minimal relief to a limited number of seniors. So, while they talk, Mainers continue to see the high prices continue to rise beyond their reach.

The time has come to enact meaningful policies that will substantially reduce the cost of prescription drugs for all Americans. The Maine Rx program, passed in the Maine State Legislature in 2000, is the model from which Congress can learn. I was the original sponsor of the Maine Rx program, but it proved to be an idea that many people and lawmakers of both parties could stand behind. In the end it passed with a nearly unanimous vote in the Maine Legislature. (Only a few members of the House voted against it.)

Maine Rx allows the state to negotiate for lower prices for residents and for state programs, because our state budget can no longer afford the high cost of prescription drugs. We must negotiate for reasonable prices at the pharmacy counter. The Maine Rx program requires the discount to come from the manufacturer, who’s enjoying the highest profits in the world, instead of out of the local drugstore or the taxpayers. It is a program that can run with remarkably little state money, and in fact, the most significant allocation of money for the program was for its legal defense, which the state of Maine is still defending from drug companies in federal court.

Leaders in Washington can learn from Maine’s example, and any Medicare benefit passed nationally must also allow the federal government to negotiate for lower prices – that is the only way we will be able to afford a meaningful program without throwing millions of taxpayer dollars to the pharmaceutical companies. In addition to negotiating for a lower price, a Medicare drug benefit must offer substantially lower out-of-pocket costs to seniors. It must be voluntary and open to all – not tied to income level or inadequate existing coverage. It must offer affordable premiums.

Any program passed in Congress must change the fact that Americans pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs and work to cut prices for everyone. To many Maine people, these principles of meaningful prescription drug benefit are common sense. In Congress, however, some people don’t even want to hear our suggestions. This is what happened when I was “uninvited” to testify before the House Ways and Mean Committee two weeks ago. I had been asked to speak about Maine’s fight for affordable prescription drugs, to talk about Maine’s principles of reform and how we passed a truly bipartisan bill.

It is shocking that members of Congress decided they did not want to hear from the first state in the nation to pass meaningful prescription drug pricing legislation, which is being considered today in more than 20 other states. You can bet that the $192,000 worth of campaign contributions given by the pharmaceutical industry to the Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee had something to do with the “uninviting.” It cost $192,000 to silence my testimony before Congress. Until members of Congress have the will to turn down pharmaceutical company money and tell the drug companies the government will not pay full price, we will not have affordable, meaningful reform.

Current proposals for a drug benefit under Medicare call for anywhere from $186 billion and to nearly half a trillion dollars. In reality, this is not enough money to make a difference. Rather than throwing taxpayers’ money into drug company profits, my program would reduce the costs at the front end. Additionally, responsible lawmakers, including Reps. Tom Allen and John Baldacci have already pointed out that our government simply cannot afford to pay for such costly programs at this point like other countries do.

Until Congress decides that any drug benefit it passes must negotiate with the pharmaceutical companies for lower prices, we will not have a meaningful benefit for Americans. The federal government already negotiates for lower princes for some groups – that is how the Department of Veterans Affairs provides lower prices to qualifying veterans. Congress has the opportunity and ability to make lasting, meaningful change – they just have to be willing to get into the fight.

Chellie Pingree of North Haven is a former state senator and a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate.