Posted by Michael Wonder on 18 Oct 2017
Congress isn’t acting to curb drug prices, so states are stepping up. Here’s how.
18 October 2017 - President Trump has complained that drug makers are getting away with murder — and he may be right.
Despite vociferous complaints from consumers that drug prices are too high, Congress has failed to act. And with few exceptions, the pharmaceutical industry has successfully delayed or thwarted state bills that would force drug makers to explain or justify price hikes.
But that may be starting to change. Last week, to the fury of the pharma industry, California enacted a law demanding transparency on rising medicine costs. Vermont already has a similar policy in place. Nevada recently began requiring drug makers to disclose pricing data about diabetes medicines. And Maryland has a new law that penalises generic companies for price gouging.
