Lawmakers in Massachusetts have introduced S.1048, legislation to make the costs of prescription drugs more transparent and, in some cases, set price controls on certain treatments to cut costs. Price controls on the pharmaceutical industry would inadvertently put patients and innovation at risk. The price of drugs reflect the costs associated with the research and development for innovative new treatments that provide enormous benefits to patients, including increasing survival rates among patients who suffer from the most deadly diseases and providing a better quality of life for those coping with them. Moreover, the legislation’s sole focus on prescription drug costs as determined by pharmaceutical manufacturers is misguided and leaves out other major factors that contribute to the rising cost of care, including restrictive insurance practices, such as fail first policies, burdensome prior authorization, and adverse tiering, which place barriers on patient access and shift higher costs onto patients. For these reasons, Aimed Alliance opposes this legislative proposal. Read more about the proposal in the Boston Globe here.
Last Updated on May 7, 2020 by Aimed Alliance
