- Strongly Opposes Bills to Eliminate Rx Coverage from Minimum
Standard for Health Care
- Supports Bills to Strengthen Law Governing Drug Company Conduct
BOSTON
, MA, May 6, 2009 – Today, AARP Massachusetts State
Director Deborah Banda testified before the Joint Committee on
Health Care Financing, on behalf of the association’s 880,000
Bay State members. Banda voiced strong opposition to SB 526,
SB 591 and HB 1106, each of which proposes the elimination of
prescription drug coverage from the minimum standard for health care
in the commonwealth. She urged the committee to maintain
prescription drug benefits as part of the minimum creditable
coverage standards.
Banda said, “Today,
prescription drugs can prolong life, improve the quality of life,
and replace more expensive medical treatments. We believe
these proposals to eliminate prescription drug coverage as part of
the minimum creditable coverage standards are short-sighted.
These changes are an ill conceived, regressive approach to stated
social policy goals of the Massachusetts health care reform
law.”
She also elaborated on why the
issue is important to AARP members. “Older persons have
the highest rate of prescription drug use,” Banda said.
“Our research shows that paying for prescription drugs is not
just an issue for people with low-incomes, but also for those with
moderate incomes. Further, we know that people with lower incomes often take
less than the prescribed amount of medication because they cannot
afford it; the practice of taking less medication than prescribed
may ultimately result in higher health care costs when residents
require urgent care and more costly hospitalizations.”
AARP’s Banda also offered
testimony in support of SB 547, An Act Making Technical
Corrections to Health Care Practitioner and Pharmaceutical and
Medical Device Manufacturer Conduct. She said, in part,
“Last session, AARP supported the broad health care cost
containment bill sponsored by Senate President Murray. We
worked to get legislation passed into law and regulations
established that address drug and medical device makers’
conduct. The law and the regulations are not perfect.
But, we believe they are a step in the right direction and will
contribute to reducing the high cost of prescription drugs.
The bill before you would strengthen the existing law
and regulations, and allow for more transparency, by the
disclosure of all fees, payments, subsidies or items of economic
benefit and value.”
For AARP’s complete testimony in
opposition of eliminating prescription drug coverage from the
minimum standard for health care in the commonwealth, click
here
.
For AARP’s complete testimony in
support of the technical corrections bill for pharmaceutical and
medical device manufacturer conduct, click
here
.
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