I am proud of the work that we have done to craft this legislation. Let’s get it over the finish line; let’s offer real results for our residents because to be clear, both Democrats and Republicans have promised to lower the costs of prescription medicine for our residents for decades. Today we are doing something about it. I urge both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting this bill to provide relief for all of our residents.
Senator McDonald Rivet’s statement is as follows:
We have heard a number of personal stories. We have people from our district that all of us in the chamber have heard. I’m going to start today with a personal story. In my family, we have a genetically-linked autoimmune disease that affects many of us, including myself. One of the many medications that I take monthly has a co-pay of $4,000. I watched my mother die in part because she could not afford all the medication that she needed on a fixed income.
In 2020, when we were in the middle of a global pandemic, costs of everything began to rise, but at the same time 500 prescription drugs skyrocketed by two times the rate of inflation in Michigan. So yes, other states are creating similar legislation and we all wish Congress would act quickly here, but we must address the problem, we must do the same in Michigan because we have to hold big pharma accountable. Doing nothing simply cannot be an option for us.
So let’s go over again what this legislation actually does. It puts rules in place to ensure a very-transparent process. Unlike any public board, there is opportunity for the public to weigh in and provide comments but the act prevents the over-influence of politicians, big pharma, health care industry executives, or any special interest groups. These board members must be individuals without financial ties or bias.
Now, there will be informed consultation in this process and the board will be advised by the Prescription Drug Affordability Stakeholder Council. This 21-member council will include representatives with knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry, supply chains, clinical training, and more. It is not an uninformed group. These representatives could include pharmacists, health care providers, researchers, drug manufactures, even those whom the legislation will directly impact. So there is ample room for input from people with skin in the game with the independent, unbiased PDAB making the ultimate decision, all subject to our rule-making process. A PDAB will help lower the costs of the most expensive prescription drugs for every Michigan resident, employer, small business, pharmacy and health plan, and bring much-needed accountability, oversight and transparency to pharmaceutical companies, making them more responsive to consumers who are quite literally dying without our help. The overarching goal of the PDAB is to find a UPL at which insurers, employers, purchasers and government can afford to provide the drug to everyone in the state and who should absolutely get that job. It is the point of the UPL, despite everything you have heard today, to expand sales and patient access.
Our constituents, our everyday focus, and right now many of their everyday drug costs are unnecessarily extreme. To bring it to a point, it should not take a herculean effort for someone to get lifesaving drugs. It should not break families backs and we cannot allow Michiganders to die needlessly because they cannot afford their prescription drugs. I urge you to vote “yes” on this today.
The following bill was read a third time:
Senate Bill No. 484, entitled
A bill to amend 1956 PA 218, entitled “The insurance code of 1956,” (MCL 500.100 to 500.8302) by adding section 3406z.
The question being on the of the bill,
The bill was passed, a majority of the members serving voting therefor, as follows: