Prescription discounts hinge on lawmakers
Current law scheduled to sunset next year
Thousands of Massachusetts residents risk losing access to discounts on vital prescription drugs by the end of this year without action from state lawmakers, a coalition of patient advocacy groups warned Tuesday.
The Patients for Prescription Access Coalition urged the sixmember fiscal 2021 Budget Conference Committee to extend a law that allows people with chronic conditions to afford medications needed to manage their illnesses.
“For so many people, without treatment, it can be life or death,” said Richard Pezzillo, executive director of the New England Hemophilia Association, one of 26 groups in the coalition.
The average annual cost of hemophilia treatment is $300,000 because there is no generic drug, Pezzillo said. But with a patient assistance card from the manufacturer, each month he pays a $125 co-pay and a $550 premium.
In 2012, Massachusetts became the last state in the nation to enact legislation allowing patients to redeem prescription drug discount coupons at pharmacies to reduce co-pay costs. But without legislative action, that law is scheduled to sunset by next year, putting patients’ health in jeopardy, advocates say.
The House of Representatives passed a budget amendment that would extend the law until 2023. A similar measure in the Senate was rescinded.
Earlier this year, the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission released a study that found that due to the high cost-sharing imposed by many insurers on patients, there was a need for continued access to manufacturer discounts.
And the need has become more urgent due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused many people to lose their jobs and whatever insurance they may have had, Pezzillo said.
None of the fiscal 2021 Budget Conference Committee’s six members responded to requests for comment.
Advocates want the committee to ensure the House’s proposal makes it into the final compromise bill.