STATEMENT: Senate President Spilka pledges action on prescription drug cost containment by Thanksgiving

Bill will include no-cost option for key chronic diseases   

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – Today, at an event at the Brazilian-American Center in Framingham, Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland) announced that the Massachusetts State Senate will release and debate a prescription drug affordability bill before Thanksgiving of this year. 

The pledge came as the Senate President was amongst healthcare leaders in the state, for a discussion about ongoing efforts to prevent gaps in MassHealth coverage. 

“The legislation will increase patient access, lower costs, and improve oversight and transparency—all with the aim of reducing the burden of high costs for consumers,” the Senate President told attendees this afternoon. “I want to thank Senator Cindy Friedman for her leadership on this critical issue, and I look forward to sharing more details in the weeks to come.” 

The bill, which is still being drafted, will direct insurance companies to provide a no-cost sharing option for certain prescription drugs used to treat asthma, heart disease, and diabetes—chronic illnesses that disproportionately affect communities of color and residents with lower income. 

The legislation is expected to echo the Senate’s previous efforts to curb prescription drug costs in 2019 and 2022, which was targeted at bringing oversight to pharmacy benefit managers and bringing transparency to pharmaceutical costs. 

The Senate President’s pledge comes a day before the Senate debates two healthcare equity bills, one that would allow pharmacists to prescribe the HIV prevention drug PrEP, and another that would broadly expand access to menstrual products in public settings in Massachusetts.  

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