Are you paying too much for prescriptions? New state task force hopes to finally bring costs down

There’s a lot people won’t agree on in 2024, but almost everyone thinks prescription drugs cost too much.

A new state task force — made up of doctors, hospitals, pharmacists, insurance carriers and drug manufacturers — was launched Wednesday to find solutions. But getting them all to agree will be a difficult recipe.

INSULIN MORE THAN TEACHING

Arden Parrish needs insulin to survive. But listen how expensive it is.

“I pay more for a month of insulin than I do for a month of my Yale tuition,” she said.

Parrish leads Connecticut Insulin 4 All. She’s also part of the new prescription drug task force that met Wednesday to look at why drug prices are so high.

“I can see in my own practice how people can’t afford or even can’t afford many of these medications,” said Dr. Jeff Gordon, a cancer doctor and Republican senator from Woodstock. “In my 30-plus years, I have seen the problem expand from a few medications to almost all.”

According to a 2022 Healthcare Value Hub survey, 51% of Connecticut residents are worried about the cost of prescriptions, nearly a quarter are actually cutting the number of pills in half to ration them, and 10% are worried about getting a needed medical one Device dispensed with.

“The system we have now is dysfunctional,” said Tracy Marra, a pharmacist from Darien who also serves as a Republican lawmaker in the state. “How they get reimbursed from their insurer, how they get reimbursed from Medicaid, how the whole process works.”

NEW TASK FORCE

In addition to lawmakers from both parties, the panel includes a wide range of stakeholders – including doctors, nurses, pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Boehringer Ingelheim (based in Ridgefield), major insurance carriers, the Connecticut Hospital Association, AAPR and Pharmacy Benefit Managers. PBMs are the “intermediaries” between drug manufacturers and insurance carriers.

The task force will address drug pricing (including the role of PBMs) and whether 340B drug discount programs should be expanded. Drugmakers argued that the expansion could actually increase prices.

“What is concerning is the explosion of the program in recent decades,” said Jennifer Herz, director of state government affairs at Boehringer Ingelheim.

ALREADY SOME PROGRESS

Connecticut – and Congress – have already made some progress. A new state law requires more transparency in drug pricing, but regulating PBMs has been a challenge.

“Who pays what and what do the manufacturers charge for PBMs and what do the pharmacies pay,” said Pat Charmel, president of Griffin Hospital.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Prescription Drug Task Force meets up to three times per week. Members expect final recommendations to state legislatures by February.