Health Policy Report Rounds Up Prescription Drug News in Four States

As reported in previous editions of the Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report -- most recently on April 9th -- many state legislatures are considering proposals to regulate drug costs and offer prescription drug coverage, particularly to elderly and low-income residents. Here's a look at some recent prescription drug news in Colorado, Florida, Missouri and Washington:

• Colorado: The state Senate is considering a bill (HB 1320), already passed by the state House, that "would require insurance companies to charge the same price" for drugs obtained by mail order and those picked up at a local pharmacy, the Colorado Springs Gazette reports. Mail-order prescriptions can often be found at lower prices because such services "have a lower overhead and buy in higher volumes." Supporters of the measure say it would simply "level the playing field" for local pharmacies and their customers. Opponents, however, contend that the bill is "anticompetitive" and would cause mail-order prices to rise to the level of local pharmacy prices, thereby creating higher overall drug costs (Henley, Colorado Springs Gazette, 4/9). Colorado Governor Bill Owens (R) on April 9 threatened to veto the measure (Brown, Denver Post, 4/10).
• Florida: The state House "tentatively approved" on April 4 a bill (HB 69) that would remove four drugs -- including the popular blood thinner Coumadin -- from a list of 11 drugs exempt from a state law that requires pharmacists to "prescribe the cheapest version" (including generic substitutes) of a prescription drug, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. The measure would also "allow the automatic substitution of generic drugs for popular medications [on the exempt list] that have had generics approved by the FDA" (Hollis, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 4/5).
• Missouri: The House on April 5 voted to end a "costly prescription drug tax credit for seniors and replace it with a program intended to help those in the greatest need," USA Today reports. The tax credit -- up to $200 per senior -- had cost the state more than four times the amount originally projected (USA Today, 4/6).
• Washington: While state lawmakers promised during their campaigns to enact prescription drug legislation, all "major" bills on this issue "are all but dead -- killed, legislators say, by budget constraints or pressure from the corps of drug industry lobbyists," the AP/Spokane Spokesman-Review reports. The only measure that passed through either chamber is a Senate resolution "that directs the state to consider working with other Northwest states to ensure reasonable drug prices, through methods such as joint pricing and purchasing agreements." However, the resolution is "merely a request, not a promise of action" (Cook, AP/Spokane Spokesman-Review, 4/8).