The
Massachusetts Medical Society wishes to be recorded in strong support of House bill 3223 and Senate Bill 627, An Act to promote transparency in prescription drug
prices. These bills would require that manufacturers of 15 “high cost” prescription drugs provide
the Attorney General’s office with an explanation of those costs, and that manufacturers planning to increase the price
of a drug more than 10 percent, or to
introduce a new high-cost drug, submit an explanation to the Health Policy
Commission (HPC). The bills would also require manufacturers to participate in
the HPC’s annual cost trend hearings and provide testimony on price hikes.
Research demonstrates that the complexity and a lack
of transparency in the prescription drug distribution system contributes to
high prices and makes our healthcare system less efficient.[1]
These bills,
consistent with current MMS policy, represent an important step forward in
achieving greater transparency in the pharmaceutical industry and promoting
improved value in health care. In
2015, faced with growing evidence of the negative impact the rising cost of drugs
on clinical care and patient health, the Medical Society adopted policy to
promote prescription drug price transparency from pharmaceutical companies,
pharmacy benefit managers, and health insurance companies.
The Medical Society
has closely watched research on pharmaceutical spending nationally and in
Massachusetts over the past several years, including HPC Cost Trends Reports
which have for two years in a in a row found that prescription drug
spending remains the largest single contributor to increased health care costs,
accounting for roughly one-third of per-capita growth. Yet for the
physician community, rising pharmaceutical costs are not just a strain on
global budgets or large systems. Rising drugs costs impact individual patients,
often jeopardizing optimal care because out-of-pocket costs are not
sustainable.
The various analyses
about the pharmaceutical spending in Massachusetts, from the HPC, as referenced
above, to the Attorney General’s Office, and many academic researchers, are
critical to achieving a greater understanding of the issue, and to help frame
subsequent policies to address the rising costs of pharmaceutical drugs. While such
reports highlight the continued concern about the strain that rising prices
place on the health care system and the need for continued discussion about
appropriate policy responses, such studies are always highly conditioned upon
the shortcomings of data. Many studies lack robust information on drug rebates,
while others are unable to understand the fees from pharmacy benefit managers. The
data compelled via these bills would help fill some of these gaps, and again
will provide greater insight into the most appropriate policy solutions
directly improving the knowledge base of this critical segment of health care
spending.
The Medical Society approaches this issue with a keen
awareness of the value of prescription drugs and their development. MMS
President Henry L. Dorkin, MD, FAAP recently noted, "While there is no
doubt that innovation in medicine has enabled physicians to improve patient
outcomes, quality of life and – in some cases, life expectancy – those results
are threatened when the cost of medicines – both new and those which have been
prescribed and effective for several years - becomes a substantial barrier.”
The MMS urges the Committee on Health
Care Financing to report HB 3223 and SB
627, An Act to promote transparency in prescription drug prices out of
Committee favorably.
[1]
The Commonwealth Fund. (2017). Getting to
the root of high prescription drug prices: Drivers and potential solutions.
Retrieved on July 14, 2017 from http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/files/publications/fund-report/2017/jul/waxman_high_drug_prices_drivers_solutions_report.pdf?la=en.
