A pair of Democratic bills in Maine aim to increase access to prescription drugs. One, sponsored by state Senate President Troy Jackson, would require all state-regulated health care plans to cover all prescription contraceptive medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration at no out-of-pocket cost to patients.
Currently, insurance companies must only cover one type of contraceptive in each method category. But Nicole Clegg of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England says that leaves many women without access to their preferred choice.
"We encounter this really consistently with our patients when we're trying to fill their prescriptions," she says.
Clegg says choosing a contraceptive method should be a decision made by patients and clinicians, not by insurance companies. She says 10 other states and Washington, D.C., have already enacted similar legislation.
The other bill, sponsored by state Sen. Ned Claxton, would establish international reference rates for the 250 most expensive drugs in Maine. The proposal would set a maximum rate that insurers can purchase drugs for, based on what Canadian provinces pay. Insurers would be required to pass savings on to consumers. During a virtual press conference, Claxton acknowledged passing the bill — which has no Republican cosponsors — won't be easy.
"It would be an ideal federal solution. But to wait for them to fix things has been a really long haul already," he says.
Ann Woloson of Consumers for Affordable Health Care says one example of the exorbitant cost of drugs in Maine is the Humira pen. It's used to treat arthritis, and Woloson says Mainers paid over $27 million for the drug last year than they did the previous year.
The bills will be the subject of public hearings Tuesday before the Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee.
