BILL NUMBER: S5399
SPONSOR: SCARCELLA-SPANTON
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring the
commissioner of health to include in annual reports information regard-
ing the cost and increase in cost of certain prescription drugs
 
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to require manufacturers to report to the
state how often the price of prescription drugs has increased and the
rationale for such increases.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: amends subdivision 1 of section 277 of the public health law,
as amended by section 18 of part A of chapter 56 of the laws of 2013 to
require the commissioner and the drug utilization review board to
provide a list of the ten prescription drugs on which the state spent
the most money in the previous year, prescriptions that have increased
more than 10% of the wholesale cost in the previous year, and drugs that
have increased more than 50% over the previous five years. Manufacturers
of prescription drugs that appear on these lists shall be required to
provide a report explaining the rationale and factoring contributing to
the cost increase.
Section 2: provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The exorbitant cost of prescription medications creates a barrier for
patients to receive the treatments they need. Policymakers and the
public would benefit from increased transparency, including requiring
pharmaceutical companies to disclose the research, development, market-
ing and manufacturing costs, as well as the profits, attributable to
their drugs.
This legislation would require the state's Drug Utilization Review
Board(DURB) to identify up to 10 prescription drugs on which the state
spends significant health care dollars and for which the wholesale
acquisition cost has increased by 50 percent or more over the last five
years or increased by 10 percent or more over the last 12 months. The
drug's manufacturer would be required to provide an explanation to the
DURB on the pricing increase, including the factors contributing to the
increase and the role each factor played in the increase. DURB would
then issue an annual report based on the information it receives, but
would be required to protect confidential commercial information and
trade secrets.
Given the double-digit growth in the price of prescription drugs, trans-
parency around the reasons for these increases would help in understand-
ing the impact increase in drug prices has on the health care costs for
employers and consumers and whether price increases are benefiting the
public by funding research and development that improve patient care or
are merely increasing the cost of health care.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024; Held in Senate Health Committee.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S5399: 277 public health law, 277(1) public health law