Bill Would Allow Great Lakes States To Create Drug-Purchasing Pool; New Hampshire Senate Approves Changes To Drug Program

A group of Republicans in the Michigan House is drafting legislation that would allow states in the Great Lakes region to pool their purchasing power to negotiate larger discounts from drug makers, the Detroit News reports. The bill, drafted by state Republican Reps. Bruce Patterson, Mickey Mortimer and Mike Kowall, would save Michigan's Department of Community Health an estimated $30 million of its $1 billion annual budget for prescription drugs (Detroit News, 4/18). Lawmakers plan to use the savings to expand the state's Elder Prescription Insurance Coverage program, which helps seniors with their drug costs (AP/CongressDaily/AM, 4/22). Seniors with incomes up to 200% of the federal poverty level, or $17,720 for an individual and $23,880 for a couple, and no other drug coverage are eligible to participate in the program. Participants contribute copayments based on their annual incomes (EPIC Web site).

And in New Hampshire
The New Hampshire Senate last week unanimously passed a bill that would clarify and help legislators monitor the state's Medicaid prescription drug program, the Manchester Union Leader reports. The state Department of Health and Human Services last fall signed a contract with First Health Services Corp., under which the company can force pharmacies to use generic drugs instead of name-brand drugs to fill prescriptions for Medicaid beneficiaries. The contract aims to reduce the state's drug costs. However, the Union Leader reports that state lawmakers have raised concerns about the program, including that beneficiaries might experience serious side effects from taking generic medications, which might be chemically different from their brand-name counterparts. The Senate-approved bill would alter the program in part by requiring the state health department to draft a new set of criteria to determine whether a patient needs a name-brand drug rather than the generic version, set up a program to prevent beneficiaries from seeking drugs from multiple pharmacies and create a committee of pharmacists and "professionals" who will serve as consultants to the program. In addition, the bill would require the health department to report to legislators "how effective the program is in saving money" (Fahey, Manchester Union Leader, 4/19).