Advocacy News – Oct. 5, 2023
This week, the Michigan Senate voted 20-17 to pass Senate Bills 483-85, sponsored by Sens. Darrin Camilleri, Veronica Klinefelt, and Kristen McDonald Rivet, creating a state-run Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB), implementing government-controlled pricing schemes for certain, unidentified prescription drugs.
Why it matters: The Michigan Chamber supports efforts to increase affordability and access to necessary prescription drugs, but believes government interference in an industry leading the way and responsible for the future health of Michiganders is dangerous and ultimately negatively impacts our residents the most.
Go deeper: The Michigan Chamber submitted the below memorandum in opposition. The bills now move onto the Michigan House for further consideration. For questions or more information, please contact Leah Robinson at lrobinson@michamber.com.
This memo is to voice the Michigan Chamber’s opposition to Senate Bills 483-85, legislation to create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB).
While we certainly share the bill sponsors’ goal of improving the affordability of prescription drugs and health care more generally, we are opposed to Senate Bills 483-85 because it would interfere with the free market through a price control scheme, negatively impact consumers and the future of critical medicines, and has proven to be very costly for the state and taxpayers in states that have chosen to enact a PDAB.
We would encourage you to consider the negative impact a PDAB may have on further development on prescription drugs. For example:
- A PDAB could hinder the ability of companies in Michigan’s life sciences ecosystem to raise capital to support research, develop and commercialize new therapies.
- If government-imposed price controls on select medications do not reflect the reality of the market, vital research will go unpursued.
- When the Biden Administration proposed a similar price control scheme in the Inflation Reduction Act, the U.S. Chamber highlighted that 130 therapies would go without research1, and the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) outlined there is a lack of certainty regarding what specific illnesses and diseases and their respective medications will go without research should the federal price-cap be codified.2 Furthermore, the CBO emphasized that countries with similar policies have longer wait times to receive necessary treatments and have limited access to those treatments.
- Life sciences companies will have to choose between compliance and the health of Michiganders.
We believe the Michigan Legislature should resist the temptation to impose price controls and interfere with the free market.