AUGUSTA – State Rep. Elaine Makas says she wants to empower prescription drug consumers to make better choices with a bill that would require chain pharmacies to post the cash price for the 20 best-selling drugs in the state.
Pharmacies say the requirement would create an unnecessary financial burden more apt to confuse customers than to help them.
Makas, D-Lewiston, presented her legislation, L.D. 1987, to the Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday during a public hearing. It’s called An Act to Increase Consumer Awareness of Prescription Drug Pricing, and that, Makas said, “is precisely what the bill is intended to do.”
As written, the bill would require pharmacies with more than four locations in the state to report to the Governor’s Office of Health Policy and Finance the retail price of the 20 most commonly sold prescription drugs in the state. Pharmacies would then be required to post the price of that list every month in their stores.
“Consumers can always ask for the price of a prescription before it is filled,” Makas testified. “In most instances, they can get the information by phone. Some may locate pricing information on a pharmacy’s Web site. Many consumers, however, do not do this comparison shopping. Some are simply unaware of the differences in the prescription drug prices from store to store.”
Makas presented along with her bill a snapshot study of drug prices at four chain pharmacies: Rite Aid, CVS, Wal-Mart and Hannaford. Completed about two weeks ago, the cash price for 13 drugs varied on average 30 percent between stores. In one case, the price for a type of insulin varied by 63 percent between the highest and lowest listings. Glucophage was $37.68 at Wal-Mart and $61.58 at CVS.
“There are considerable differences in the costs to consumers for the prescription drugs needed to protect or restore their health,” Makas said. “This bill, L.D. 1987, can make the comparative information more readily accessible.”
According to industry representatives testifying against Makas’ bill, less than 10 percent of the state’s population pays the cash price for prescriptions. Most pay a price negotiated by either their insurance company or the state, or simply go without.
Additionally, they said, the prices for prescription drugs can fluctuate on a daily basis, and the best way to get accurate, up-to-date prices is to call the pharmacy.
“The prices will be out of date as soon as they go up on the wall,” said Douglass Carr, who represented Rite Aid in opposition to the bill. “We can get to the point where those 60,000 people who pay cash can get the information they need. … But this information is not going to be helpful information for the consumer.”
During the testimony, Rep. Richard Burns, D-Berwick, slipped out of the hearing and called two Rite Aid pharmacies. He asked for the cash price for a month’s supply of 20 mg Lipitor. He was quoted two different prices and was told that the cost doesn’t change very often.
The mandate to post prices would apply to about 200 of the roughly 250 retail pharmacies in the state, Carr said, unnecessarily wasting time, energy and money.
Committee Democrats generally supported the bill, and Gov. John Baldacci’s office testified in favor, with one change: The postings would be required quarterly instead of monthly.
A work session on the bill is scheduled for today.
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