On August 4, Governor Tony Evers (D), Rep. Lisa Subeck (D-Madison), and Sen.Jon Erpenbach (D-West Point) announced a package of bills that they argue will reduce the cost of prescription drugs in Wisconsin. Called the “Less for Rx” prescription drug plan, the package includes a variety of proposals recommended by the Governor’s Task Force on Reducing Prescription Drug Prices. Gov. Evers previously included many of these policies in his 2021-2023 budget proposal.
Notable items from the package include:
- Creating an Office of Prescription Drug Affordability to oversee and regulate the pharmaceutical supply chain
- Creating a Prescription Drug Affordability Review Board to establish prescription drug spending targets for public sector entities and establishing price limits
- Requiring transparency and reporting across the entire prescription drug supply chain, including for manufacturers, PBMs, PSAOs, and health plans, as well as reporting or licensing requirements for PBMs, PSAOs, PBM brokers and consultants, and pharmaceutical sales reps
- Under certain circumstances, requiring insurers to apply discounts and coupons utilized by consumers to deductibles and annual out-of-pocket maximums
- Creating a Prescription Drug Importation Program that would allow the state to import drugs
- Providing the state with the authority to study, develop, and pursue a State Prescription Drug Purchasing Entity
- Establishing a $50 copay cap on insulin
- Eliminating BadgerCare prescription drug copayments
The “Less for Rx” plan includes Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) bill draft numbers 2313, 3315, 3317, 3319, 3331, 3332, 3333, 3334, 3335, 3336, 3337, 3338, and 3339.
Most of the bills have since been introduced in the Senate as Senate Bills (SB) 539, 540, 542, 543, 548, 549, 550, 551, 552, 553, and 554.