Will Washington state ever fight to reduce drug price gouging?
Apr 13, 2017, 11:30 AM
If more states made it legal for leaders to question prices of manufactured drugs, we would potentially see less price gouging. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski, File)
(AP Photo/Mark Zaleski, File)
A general assembly of Maryland passed a bill aimed at drug price gouging this week. The bill would allow an attorney general to take action on behalf of consumers and potentially rollback prices.
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But will Washington state ever attempt such a thing?
Former state Attorney General Rob McKenna says the idea is at least worth a discussion. However, proving that a drug company has participated in unconscionable price hikes is difficult to do, he says.
“The notion of unconscionable price hikes has been around for a while in the context of laws that attempt to prevent businesses from charging outrageous amounts of money for water during an emergency,” McKenna said as an example.
After a natural disaster, McKenna says there are laws that prevent retailers from jacking up prices on essential products.
The law in Maryland is similar, except it extends to potentially life-saving drugs, such as the EpiPen.
Drug manufacturers have long been criticized for increasing prices for drugs that can not only save lives but are relatively cheap to make. Earlier this year, CVS began selling a rival, generic version of Mylan’s EpiPen — life-saving allergy treatment — at what The Associated Press determined was about a sixth of the price. CVS announced it would sell a two-pack of the drug for $109.99; a heck of a lot cheaper than the EpiPen, which retailed for more than $600 at the time.
It’s drugs like the EpiPen where Maryland’s law would be most useful, McKenna says.
Listen to the entire conversation below.
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