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NLARx Summer Meeting
Friday, July 13, 2012
3:15 - 6:15 pm (registration is at 3 pm)
108 Cherry Street, Conference Room 2B
Burlington, Vermont

Catch up on the latest prescription drug policy being advocated by state legislators from around the country at the Summer NLARx meeting in beautiful Burlington, Vermont.

 Register here          Hotel & Travel Information

We have conveniently scheduled our meeting so that legislators interested in health care policy who are attending the sessions on the Affordable Care Act or trade policy at the NCOIL conference may also participate in our meeting on pharmaceutical policy.  

Agenda

• IMS v Sorrell - Where do we go from here? New Hampshire's pioneering work on prescriber privacy continues in spite of a setback to its datamining law in the U.S. Supreme Court. Is there a way forward that balances First Amendment protections with patient and prescriber privacy and public health concerns?

Speakers: Prof. Kevin Outterson, Boston University Law School; N.H. State Rep. Cindy Rosenwald

• Vaccination policy - This year, the Vermont Legislature tackled the difficult issue of parental opt-outs. Balancing public health and parental involvement in vaccination policy presents challenges for all states.

Speaker: Vermont State Senator Kevin Mullin

• Specialty drugs - Rising costs spur state policy responses across the country.  Will the Affordable Care Act come to the rescue? What options do states have?

Speaker: Maine State Rep. Sharon Treat, NLARx Executive Director

• Trade policy and drug prices - Will the Trans-Pacific Partnership prevent states and the federal government from negotiating drug prices? What's the latest news about Big Pharma's strategy to keep prices high through trade policy?

Speaker: Maine State Rep. Sharon Treat, NLARx Executive Director

Meeting registration is at 3 pm, and the meeting will run from 3:15-6:15 pm.  

Registration costs only $25 for state legislators, so there's no reason to delay! 

 
We also plan a networking dinner for legislators at a local restaurant Friday night. For more information about registering for the meeting or attending the dinner, call Tina at 207.622.5597 or email us at info@reducedrugprices.org.

States Cut Prescription Drug Coverage

An unfortunate consequence of the recession and reduced revenues have been significant cuts to state prescription drug assistance programs and Medicaid coverage including for prescription drugs.  

In Texas, 500,000 free vaccines for kids won't be provided anymore.  Legislators in Maine enacted a budget cutting health care entirely for 20,000 young adults aged 19-20 and eliminated 1,500 seniors from prescription drug assistance.  The budgets passed by both the House and Senate in Illinois would eliminate the elderly prescription drug assistance program serving 180,000 people to save $72.2 million. Cuts of $36 million to New York's EPIC program (Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage) went into effect in January.

This recent report from the Community Access National Network outlines Medicaid cuts proposed or enacted in many of the 50 states, including pharmaceutical cuts. The report lists the following states as having numerical limits on the number of prescriptions (some with monthly caps) that may be purchased through Medicaid: Alabama, Arkansas, California (proposed), Georgia, Illinois (proposed), Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia. See also this report from the Kaiser Family Foundation on planned mid-year cuts to Medicaid in 10 states.

In a "double overtime" special session, Washington state avoided cuts to pharmacy despite early proposals that would have made significant cuts.