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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1738 FILED ON: 1/18/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1205
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Bradley H. Jones, Jr.
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to prescription drug price transparency.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Bradley H. Jones, Jr.20th Middlesex1/17/2023Nicholas A. Boldyga3rd Hampden1/26/2023Susan Williams Gifford2nd Plymouth1/26/2023F. Jay Barrows1st Bristol1/26/2023Marcus S. Vaughn9th Norfolk1/27/2023Angelo L. D'Emilia8th Plymouth1/28/2023Kimberly N. Ferguson1st Worcester2/1/2023 1 of 3
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1738 FILED ON: 1/18/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1205
By Representative Jones of North Reading, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1205) of
Bradley H. Jones, Jr. and others that the Health Policy Commission and health insurers create
listings of certain high cost prescription drugs and that the Attorney General require drug
manufacturers to provide information to justify increases in costs. Health Care Financing.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 1278 OF 2021-2022.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act relative to prescription drug price transparency.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Chapter 6D of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition,
2is hereby amended by inserting after section 19 the following new section:-
3 Section 20. (a)(1) The commission, in consultation with the center, shall create annually a
4list of 10 drugs on which the commonwealth’s MassHealth program spends significant
5healthcare dollars and for which the wholesale acquisition cost has increased by 50 percent or
6more over the past five years or by 15 percent or more during the previous calendar year, or both.
7The list shall include at least one generic and one brand name drug and shall indicate each of the
8drugs on the list that the commission considers specialty tier drugs. 2 of 3
9 (2) Each carrier with more than 5,000 covered lives in the commonwealth for major
10medical health insurance shall create annually a list of 10 prescription drugs on which its health
11insurance plans spend significant amounts of their premium dollars and for which the cost to the
12plans, net of rebates and other price concessions, has increased by 50 percent or more over the
13past five years or by 15 percent or more during the previous calendar year, or both. The list shall
14include at least one generic and one brand name drug and shall indicate each of the drugs on the
15list that the insurer considers specialty tier drugs.
16 (3) The commission and payers shall provide to the office of the attorney general the lists
17of prescription drugs developed pursuant to this section annually on or before June 1. Each
18carrier shall provide the office of the attorney general the percentage by which the net cost to its
19plans increased over the applicable period or periods for each drug on the list, as well as the
20carrier’s total expenditure, net of rebates and other price concessions, for each drug on the list
21during the most recent calendar year.
22 (b) Of the prescription drugs listed by the commission and the carriers pursuant to
23subsection (a) of this section, the office of the attorney general shall identify up to 15 drugs, of
24those appearing on more than one payer’s list, on which the greatest amount of money was spent
25across all payers during the previous calendar year.
26 (1) For the 15 drugs identified by the office of the attorney general pursuant to subsection
27(b) of this section, the office of the attorney general shall require the manufacturer of each such
28drug to provide all relevant information and supporting documentation necessary to justify the
29increase in the net cost of the drug. 3 of 3
30 (2) The attorney general shall provide a report to the legislature on or before December 1
31of each year based on the information received from manufacturers pursuant to this section.
32 (c) The commission shall promulgate all regulations necessary to implement this section,
33including, but not limited to, establishing penalties for noncompliance with the requirements set
34forth in this section.