Gov. Janet Mills has signed a package of four bills aimed at bringing down the cost of prescription drugs in Maine.
“Today I think Maine takes a really major step forward in tackling the skyrocketing prescription drug prices we have seen, standing up for Maine people, for Maine consumers,” Mills says.
One of the bills would set up a way for Mainers to buy lower cost drugs from Canada. Another is designed to protect consumers from unfair practices by pharmacy benefit managers. The third measure would set up a pharmacy board to assess the affordability of drugs, and a fourth would set up a wholesale importation process for drugs.
Some of the provisions will need federal approval.
“For too long, Mainers have seen their prescription drugs skyrocket because politicians were too afraid to take on big Pharma,” says Senate President Troy Jackson, a Democrat from Allagash. “We are not. Today that changes. With this prescription drug reform package we are delivering long overdue relief to Mainers.”
