State Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, has filed a suite of bills to rein in sharply rising prescription drug prices.<\/p>\n
“This is a crisis,” said Keiser in a media release. “My colleagues and I hear every day from constituents who can’t afford their medication anymore, people who have to choose between prescriptions and rent.<\/p>\n
“We have a responsibility to curb excessive costs of critical prescription drugs that are vital for people’s health. I’m working together with stakeholders to take several steps to make crucial, life-sustaining medications more affordable.”<\/p>\n
Keiser has pre-filed five bills to tackle the problem from multiple angles. The bills will be considered during the 2020 legislation session, which begins on Jan. 13 in Olympia.<\/p>\n
• SB 6087 would cap the out-of-pocket cost to patients for insulin at $100 per month.<\/p>\n
• SB 6088 would establish a prescription drug affordability board that would review prices to see if maximum price caps are needed.<\/p>\n
• SB 6110 would provide a mechanism for the state to import prescription drugs from Canada under a federal waiver.<\/p>\n
• SB 6111 would allow the state to contract with Canadian pharmacies that state employees could use for their needed high-cost medications.<\/p>\n
• SB 6113 would create a centralized purchasing process for insulin, based on the approached used by the state to purchase childhood vaccines.<\/p>\n
Keiser is also continuing work to update a bill passed last year, HB 1224, that was supposed to provide drug price transparency, but has yet to be fully implemented.<\/p>\n
“I expect lots of pushback from lobbyists and the companies that are profiting from high prescription drug prices,” said Keiser. “But this is too important to wait.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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