Increasing price transparency
This year, four states – Colorado, Oregon, Texas, and Washington – became the latest to enact laws requiring drug companies to provide information to states and consumers on the list prices of drugs and planned price increases.
The majority of states now have such transparency laws, and most post the data on public websites. The details vary, but all states with such laws seek to identify drugs with price increases above 10% or more a year, and drugs with price increases above set dollar values.
Oregon’s new law, for example, requires manufacturers to notify the state 60 days in advance of any planned increase of 10% or more in the price of brand-name drugs, and any 25% or greater increase in the price of generic drugs.
“That 60-days’ notice was very important to us,” said Rep. Andrea Salinas, chair of the Oregon House’s health committee, who represents Lake Oswego. “It gives doctors and patients advance notice and a chance to adjust and consider what to do.”
AGA Resource
AGA advocates that drug affordability should be focused on decreasing out-of-pocket expenses for patients, maintaining reasonable incentives for innovation, increasing cost transparency, promoting shared decision making, and boosting competition. Learn more about our drug affordability principles at https://www.gastro.org/advocacy-and-policy/issues-and-news/top-issues/drug-affordability-principles.
Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation that is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
