Representatives of Northeastern States Legislative Association Meet To Discuss Ways To Combat Rising Drug Costs

Pennsylvania lawmakers last week met with other members of the Northeastern States Legislative Association to discuss methods of cutting prescription drug costs for public health programs, which could help the state's Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly (PACE) program, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. PACE, a lottery-funded prescription program for income-qualified seniors, is expected to face a deficit in 18 months. At the meeting, lawmakers heard presentations on creating a drug formulary that would require physicians to obtain prior authorization for more expensive medicines not on the list, as Maine and Florida already do. The legislative association, which includes representatives from eight states, also met to "further its goal" of pooling states' "purchasing power" to buy drugs at discounted prices, though no "concrete steps" toward such a cooperative were taken. Pennsylvania State Sen. Tim Murphy (R) said, "Each of us has to go back to our states and discuss the idea." Pennsylvania's biotechnology industry, however, has criticized plans for a formulary or a multi-state purchasing pool, the Post-Gazette reports. David Smith, general counsel at the Pittsburgh biotechnology company TissueInformatics, said proposals from the legislative association would "discourage companies from developing new drugs" because formularies require doctors to prescribe "the least expensive, less advanced medicines." Edward Abrahams, executive director of the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Association, said, "It is important for policy makers to realize that restricting access to the most advanced drugs science now offers could not only harm the patient, but also potentially damage Pennsylvania's vibrant and growing biotech industry" (Snowbeck/Reeves, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1/12).