Michigan Gov. Whitmer Signs Bipartisan Bills to Reduce Prescription Drug Prices

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday signed into law three bills seeking to reduce prescription drug prices.

“I am proud to sign this bipartisan legislation that helps us lower the cost of prescription drugs,” Whitmer said in a statement, per Just the News. “For too long, unlicensed pharmacy benefit managers have been able to engage in practices that drive up costs for Michiganders whose lives and health depend on critical prescription drugs like insulin. This bill brings much-needed transparency to our healthcare system and is a testament to what we can do when we put Michiganders first.”

One of the bills, HB 4348, tasks the Department of Insurance and Financial Services to license pharmacy benefit managers, requires them to file transparency reports and bans them from practicing “spread pricing.”

The pharmacy benefit manager must “provide a reasonably adequate and accessible” retail network, and would bar them from charging a pharmacy to process claims electronically, as well as regulate steps before increasing certain drug costs.

The second, HB 4351, would prohibit pharmacy benefit managers or carriers from requiring a patient to pay a copay higher than the cost of the drug.

HB 4352 requires pharmacists to provide the price of a drug or the generic version without being asked.

“In 2017, 32% of Michigan residents stopped taking their medications as prescribed due to the cost,” bill sponsor Rep. Julie Calley said in a statement. “This impactful new law will directly improve the affordability and access of prescriptions. It also adds much needed transparency into our healthcare system.”