Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that authorizes the Maine Prescription Drug Affordability Board to assess strategies to lower prescription drug costs and to submit a full affordability program plan by 2027.

Highlights:

• Expands the Maine Prescription Drug Affordability Board from five to six members, and requires that members have shared expertise in health policy and health care data, in addition to the expertise previously required (Sec. 1).

• Prohibits members of the Board from representing the interests of a pharmaceutical manufacturer (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that the additional member added to the Board by this Act will be the executive director of the Maine Health Data Organization, or their designee, and will serve as an ex officio, nonvoting member (Sec. 1).

• Repeals the provision directing the Board to determine annual spending targets for prescription drugs purchased by public employee health plan administrators - previously defined as “public payors” (Sec. 5).

• Requires the Board to implement the following strategies to reduce costs of prescription drugs (Sec. 5):

• Review data on prescription drug spending to identify causes of high or rising spending;

• Gather public input to identify cost-related barriers to accessing prescription drugs; and

• Assess strategies to reduce the cost of prescription drugs and the rate of growth in prescription drug spending.

• Specifies that, according to the requirements of the previous paragraph, the Board must assess the following strategies (Sec. 5):

• Establishing upper payment limits;

• Implementing reference-based pricing based on the first 10 drugs in the Medicare drug price negotiation program;

• Recommending annual spending targets for prescription drugs for public payors and the commercial insurance market and implementing strategies to meet those targets;

• Implementing transparency requirements and regulation of supply chain entities involved in the prescription drug market;

• Implementing strategies to reduce out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs through the regulation of insurance;

• Developing opportunities for engagement with providers to disseminate information about prescription drug costs and pricing; and

• Aligning the payment for prescription drugs with drug acquisition costs.

Full Bill Text