Monthly Archives: April 2017

Transparency Legislation Does Not Pass in Washington State Regular Session

The end of the legislative session in Olympia on April 23 did not see the enactment of what had once been among the fastest-moving pieces of drug pricing transparency legislation in the country.  After passing the House of Representatives in a close 52-46 vote, HB 1541 was unable to escape from the Senate Committee on Health Care.

HB 1541 would have required manufacturers of prescription drugs that increase in price by 1) the lesser of 10% or $10,000 over a 12-month period;… More

Maryland ‘Price-Gouging’ Legislation Goes to Governor

In a lopsided 137 to 2 vote on April 10, 2017, the Maryland House of Delegates passed HB 631, which outlaws “price gouging” by manufacturers and wholesale distributors of certain “essential off-patent or generic drugs.”  Price gouging is defined as “an unconscionable increase in the price of a prescription drug.”

The legislation applies to drugs for which exclusive marketing rights have expired,… More

Supplemental Rebates for Medicaid Drugs Enacted with New York Budget

On Thursday, April 20, the Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law New York’s 2017-18 budget.  The budget adds a new section 280 to the New York Public Health Law which requires the Commissioner of Health to set an aggregate Medicaid drug spending growth threshold for 2017 and 2018, and allows the Commissioner to refer drugs to the Drug Utilization Review Board for pricing reviews when the state is projected to exceed the threshold. … More