In a matter of minutes today, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments from Maine, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and the Bush administration on the constitutionality of Maine Rx.
It’s a very complicated process and justices usually take months to review arguments presented in dozens of briefs before issuing a ruling.
The process may be complicated, but the law isn’t. It’s really quite simple. It permits Maine to require prior authorization before prescriptions are dispensed to some patients and to negotiate for fair and reasonably priced prescription drugs for all of us.
It’s a good law and a partial solution to the rising cost of prescription drugs.
PhRMA is making two chief arguments: prior authorization is burdensome to Medicaid recipients and price controls interfere with interstate commerce.
Congress specifically permits prior authorization under the Medicaid Act, so this is a specious argument.
On the second point, PhRMA has repeatedly called Maine Rx a price control measure. Price caps would only be imposed after 36 months, after negotiations have failed. So, the trade group either doesn’t understand the law, or it sees it as a price control measure because it has no intention of negotiating and presumes price caps will be forced upon it.
Maine deserves, like any other large buying entity, to negotiate purchases. Insurance companies negotiate regularly on drug costs. Mail-order pharmacies and the federal government do, too. None of them are accused of violating the Constitution by interfering with interstate commerce.
The pharmaceutical industry, which does miraculous work and contributes greatly to Americans’ good health, is greedy. The accelerating cost of health care in this country is tied directly to the rising cost of prescription drugs.
The industry certainly needs money for research and we don’t want research to stop. However, this is an industry that is significantly subsidized by taxpayers and its profit margin is three times greater than other leading industries.
PhRMA argues that it needs high profits to continue research. How transparent.
Profits are calculated after research and development costs. Profit is what is dispensed in shareholder dividends and on extravagant salaries and bonuses.
The industry takes our money to do its work, returns nothing to public coffers and then overcharges us for products.
We deserve greater consideration than that. That’s all Maine Rx is attempting to do, require fair treatment of customers.
The pharmaceutical industry, if objective, could see it is pricing itself out of some markets. A lot of elderly people — those who use the greatest amount of prescription drugs — simply cannot afford to buy them. If they stop buying, the industry stops profiting.
Of course, the industry is now pushing Uncle Sam to adopt a Medicare prescription drug benefit, largely because the elderly could then use their government benefits to buy prescriptions and industry profits would be preserved. PhRMA is screaming that Maine is manipulating the law, but the real manipulation is shifting responsibility for payment of overpriced drugs from private citizens to the federal government.
This is a contest of profit over people, not protecting the Constitution. The court must side with the people.
jmeyer@sunjournal.com
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