By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers are floating another attempt to curb the costs of prescription drugs, announcing a bill to set up a “prescription drug affordability board,” which would evaluate drug costs and set what advocates say are reasonable rates.
“Health care – specifically, prescription drugs – are just too expensive to afford, said the House sponsor, State Rep. Nabeela Syed (D-Inverness). “People are making dangerous decisions in my community, like rationing their medication, or choosing between affording their medication or buying their groceries or paying their rent.”
That affordability board, says Senate sponsor State Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria), “brings together people who are experts in this area, and it sets up upper payment limits on drugs. The older you get, the more medication is really part of your health care plan, and seniors get really priced out of the market.
“It’s not right in America.”
A statement from biopharmaceutical research trade group PhRMA (Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America) reads:
“Lawmakers seeking to lower prescription drug costs should know government price setting doesn’t get to the root of the problem. Legislation that fails to address health insurance companies and their pharmacy benefit managers makes lowering costs for Illinois patients impossible. Other states have spent millions of dollars establishing prescription drug affordability boards, but they have yet to save patients one cent at the pharmacy counter.”
Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].
