In the days and weeks to come, the Supreme Court will be hearing arguments addressing the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. Much of the argument will focus on the issue of individual mandates and insurance exchanges. We here in Massachusetts know exchanges and mandates are the beginning of Healthcare Reform not the end. By the end of 2012, Connecticut should have a fully functional universal benefit, while Vermont should largely have a single-payer system in place. Regardless of what happens later this spring in Washington, there is plenty of work on Healthcare to be done here in Massachusetts.
That’s why I am supporting an effort to drive down the cost of prescription drugs. This plan depends on basic things like: letting Massachusetts capture significant savings for Bay Staters by licensing Canadian pharmacies which agree to meet Massachusetts pharmacy standards, or using of purchasing pools to leverage bulk savings for individual purchases of prescription drugs, and encouraging greater reliance on generic meds whenever plausible.
While these fixes are relatively small, they could pay off big for taxpayers. Licensing pharmacies outside Massachusetts could ultimately return a net benefit to taxpayers, as pharmacies wishing to comply would need to pay fees to the Commonwealth. Trade treaties like NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) and GATT (the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) included language permitting the free flow of goods and services (including prescription drugs) across the US-Canada border. “It is clear that the parties intended for all goods and services to be subject to the terms of the agreement…” While the Administration would be tasked with implementing the expanded licensing scheme, “…pharmacies wishing to comply with the new law could be asked to pay significant licensing fees in order to assure that providers wishing to serve local communities have the financial resources to do adequately, this gesture very well could represent a windfall for the Commonwealth.
As to purchasing pools the Commonwealth purchases large quantities of meds to service a variety of obligations it has to citizens across State government, whether considering the inmates populations in Corrections, or children in DCF care or persons under the supervision of the Department of Mental Health, just to name a few… through economies of scale gained by bundling these drug purchases together, the state should be able to capture savings for taxpayers based on sheer volume, allowing municipal and county governments and other large institutions to join the Commonwealth in its prescription purchasing would further drive down overall costs.
Lastly, an increased reliance on generic drugs could save even more money for Massachusetts consumers. By creating a “de-facto” presumption that patients will get the generic form of their meds, unless a treator demonstrates medical necessity for the prescription over the counter product patients can capture additional savings and access pharmacy care affordably. “
It is unconscionable that we do not have a pharmacy benefit in Massachusetts in the year 2012. Creating conditions where people chose between there meds and their meals is unfathomable, but all too often families across our commonwealth are confronted with these kinds of decisions. The approach I am supporting here would make an important difference in delivering adequate pharmacy care affordably to all Bay Staters. This prescription benefit proposal recognizes the need to balance access lower drug costs for patients while affirming that healthcare delivery must firmly remain in the hands of patients in concert with their families and their treators. In advancing this proposal, I believe we have struck that balance.
