LANSING — Michigan legislators are making another attempt to reduce the cost of prescription drugs by proposing the creation of a state affordability board.
The Prescription Drug Affordability Board — which would be established by SB 3, 4 and 5 — would have the power to set upper price limits on medications that have led to so-called “affordability challenges” for patients or the healthcare system.
“At the core, this package is about fairness, accountability and making sure that every resident has access to the life-saving medications that they need,” said Sen. Sue Shink, (D) District 14, Northfield Twp.
The five-member board would be made up of health policy experts and at least one patient advocate.
The members would be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate.
“These companies are exploiting our seniors, those with chronic illnesses, and so many others, by charging outrageous prices for life-saving medications, simply because there’s no system in place to hold them accountable,” said Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D), District 4, Trenton.
Sen. John Damoose (R), District 37, Harbor Springs, was the sole Republican to support the package in the Senate.
He voted against it last term but now says he has changed his mind after learning more about drug prices in other countries.
“My district is on the Canadian border, and I see it all the time, where people go across the river because they can get the same prescription for half the price in Canada that they can get in Michigan. This is absolutely crazy,” he said.
Other Republicans voiced opposition to the bills, likening the proposals to Soviet-style price fixing by cutting potential profits.
“If you eliminate that, there’s no incentive for innovation or entrepreneurship. It goes away,” said Sen. Thomas Albert (R), District 18, Lowell. “The competition is destroyed. This does not benefit people — his hurts people.”
Damoose pushed back, saying the American drug industry — supported by federally funded research and development — is far from a free market.
“Rightly or wrongly, the idea of the free market no longer applied, and since the American taxpayers are the ones who made that investment, there should be a dividend in terms of more affordable access to those drugs,” Damoose said.
Republican House Speaker Matt Hall (R), District 42, Richland Twp., was noncommittal Thursday on putting the bills up for a vote.
“It’s a very controversial proposal put forward by the Senate Democrats,” he said. “And so every bill that we look at, we’re going to look at, does this actually reduce the cost of prescription drugs?”