Claxton bill to increase transparency in prescription drug pricing gets unanimous support in Senate

AUGUSTA – On Tuesday, a bill from Sen. Ned Claxton, D-Auburn, received unanimous, bipartisan support in the Maine Senate. The bill, LD 1636, “An Act To Determine Potential Savings in Prescription Drug Costs by Using International Pricing,” would provide lawmakers and members of the public with data showing the potential savings that could be realized by using international reference pricing.

“Right over the border, Canadians are paying hundreds less than we pay here in Maine for the very same medications,” said Sen. Claxton. “There’s absolutely no reason this should be the case, and Mainers have been stuck paying outrageous prices for far too long. While this bill won’t solve the issue, it will give us the data we need to move forward in pursuing a referenced rate for the most costly and most utilized prescriptions in Maine. Folks deserve to see how much we could be saving if we paid comparable prices to Canadians.”

As amended, the bill would direct the Maine Health Data Organization (MHDO) to identify the 100 most utilized and 100 most expensive prescription drugs in Maine. The MHDO would also be required to establish a referenced rate based on wholesale costs in Canada for these drugs, and then determine the savings Mainers would achieve by using the referenced rate. All of this data would be reported to the Legislature and public on an annual basis. Additionally, these reports would include information on the Canadian government’s subsidization of prescriptions to ensure that lawmakers can get a complete picture. 

The bill faces additional votes before the Senate and House.

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