Vermont Treasurer Mike Pieciak and legislative leaders are getting behind a bill that promises to lower prescription drug costs by using the power of bulk purchasing.
The bill would allow Pieciak’s office to create a discount drug card program that would enable any Vermonter to save up to 80 percent on certain drugs.
Testimony on bill, H. 577, is expected to begin next week.
Pieciak said he’s already convinced that the program could deliver critical cost savings to Vermonters at a time when federal leadership on health care is flagging.
The bill would allow Vermont to join an existing program called ArrayRx. The effort began in 2006 when Washington and Oregon collaborated to lower drug prices. Today the states work with a pharmacy benefit management firm to help public entities use their collective buying power to lower drug costs.
“This is government at its best,” Pieciak said at a Statehouse press conference on Thursday. “Instead of each state going alone, states work together, giving us more power to reduce costs and deliver real savings to our residents.”
Connecticut has joined the program, and participants are saving an average of $200 per month, Pieciak said.
The savings are greatest on generic drugs. Savings on name-brand drugs run around 20 percent. In many cases, participants can use the program to purchase drugs that are not covered by their insurance policies.
“For too long, Vermonters have been at the mercy of pharmaceutical companies, whose greed seems to know no bounds,” Pieciak said.
House Speaker Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington) said the program is more important than ever given the loss of federal subsidies that threaten the health care coverage of thousands of Vermonters.
“The Trump administration has made it clear they have no intention of working on health care and that they’ve gone in the opposite direction,” Krowinski said. While there’s no single fix for the health care “affordability crisis,” she said, “taking steps like this will lead to meaningful change for our state.”
Sen. Ginny Lyons (D-Chittenden-Southeast) said the Committee on Health and Welfare, which she chairs, will prioritize drug costs this session.
High drug prices are forcing people on fixed incomes to choose between medication and other essentials such as food, heat and housing, she said.
“We can’t have this continue,” she said.
Amanda Wheeler, spokeswoman for Gov. Phil Scott, said he has not yet reviewed the bill.
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