Industry News
NCSL Releases Bipartisan Work Group Report on Prescription Drug Costs
On August 25, 2021, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) announced the release of its bipartisan working group’s report, Prescription Drug Policy: A Bipartisan Remedy. The report is intended to serve as a resource for legislators and their staffs dealing with the complex issue of how to manage and lower prescription drug prices.
The bipartisan Prescription Drug Policy Recommendations Work Group is comprised of state legislators to discuss state policy options and issues related to prescription drug access and affordability.
From those discussions, three broad recommendations developed including:
- Determining the true cost of prescription drugs;
- Streamlining procurement processes and create new purchasing models; and
- Encouraging competition into the supply chain.
The report examined the recommendations and policy options based on the discussions and feedback from the legislators in the work group. Although lawmakers need to explore the range of legislative policies that may work for their states, the recommendations may help to address the efforts on various areas of the prescription drug issue.
The report is available here.