Democrats' prescription price plan could mean big fines for drug companies

FLINT, MI - Drug companies could face heavy fines under a plan introduced by state Democrats to regulate soaring prescription drug costs.

State Reps. Vanessa Guerra, D-Saginaw, Tim Sneller, D-Burton, and Brian K. Elder, D-Bay City were in Flint on Monday, Aug. 21, to discuss a push to prevent prescription drug price spikes through the creation of a prescription drug consumer protection board.

The legislation is set to be introduced this fall, according to Sneller, and would require drug manufacturers to send in documents that would justify price increases over 10 percent in one year or 30 percent over five years to a board for review.

Any drug manufacturers that don't submit the required information could be subject to fines and penalties, including up to $100,000 a day, the legislators said during a news conference on Monday outside McLaren-Flint's Karmanos Cancer Institute.

The proposal would require the Michigan Attorney General to investigate any drug manufacturers that the oversight board believes excessively increased prescription drug costs.

"Seeing people spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars on life-saving medication, like $500 EpiPens, is unacceptable," Guerra said. "We need to be doing all we can to fix this broken part of our healthcare system and help our constituents afford the medication they need. This is a common-sense measure and should be a bipartisan effort."

The legislation is modeled after similar laws that have been enacted in Vermont, Sneller said.

Democrats said the measure will strengthen the state's consumer protection act and force pharmaceutical companies to show how prescription drug costs are determined and where the money is spent.

"We aren't waiting for someone else to take the lead on protecting the people of our state -- we're on the front lines doing it ourselves," Sneller said.

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