Lawmakers Push For Answers On High Prescription Drug Prices

Democratic lawmakers are working on a proposal to control the cost of prescription drugs in Wisconsin. It would increase transparency on prescription drug prices and require negotiations with drug manufacturers on critical medications with significantly high cost.

Rep. Deb Kolste, D-Janesville, said her bill would require the state’s insurance commissioner to seek information from drug makers on the cost of research and development, production and marketing.

“It’s simply a way for us to explain and or justify the cost of drugs. And many of these drugs are life-saving,” Kolste said, comparing the proposal to existing state oversight of utilities. “There’s a reason that utilities are regulated and, more importantly, why they can’t shut off heat in the winter. Because loss of life resulting from the cold would seem untenable to the public. And so it is with drug costs. The loss of life due to them not being able to afford a drug is simply wrong.”

Vermont lawmakers recently passed a bill requiring drug makers to justify price spikes of 15 medications. A spokesman for Wisconsin’s Office of the Insurance Commissioner said they don’t have authority to control drug prices. But proponents of such laws point to a study done by economists at MIT and the University of California, Berkeley showing that transparency can have an effect on lowering prices.