Beech Tree News Network

State Representative Rebecca Raymer was recently nominated to attend a National Council of State Legislator’s (NCSL) Seminar on Prescription Drug Access and Costs. The meeting will take in place in September in Chicago.

“I am honored to have been nominated to attend this crucial NCSL seminar on prescription drug costs. So many Kentuckians rely on life-saving medications, and it is of utmost importance they have easy access to a pharmacy and that the drugs are affordable,” added Raymer, “This seminar will allow us to speak with other legislators and policy experts on what is working in their states and it also gives us the opportunity to share the steps Kentucky has taken to mitigate this problem. This past session, I had the opportunity to bring forward several health-related bills to help improve the lives of all Kentuckians, and I am hopeful that the knowledge I will bring back from the seminar will help me champion more legislation in next year’s regular session.”

The NCSL Seminar on Prescription Drug Access and Costs will bring state legislators together to learn about promising state strategies to address prescription drug issues. Attendees will learn from national experts and discuss state policy levers related to pharmacy benefit management, as well as prescription drug access, prices, and costs. The meeting will also include a site visit to a specialty pharmacy.

“With her background in health care and her commitment to improving health across our commonwealth, Rep. Raymer was a natural pick for this seminar. I appreciate that she is willing to participate and know she will do a great job of not only representing our commonwealth but also engaging in the kind of conversations that lead to solutions,” Osborne said. “Hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians depend on prescription medication to treat health conditions and maintain their health. To those men and women, having access to affordable medication is a matter of life.”

The rising costs of prescription drug prices is something Kentuckians are all to familiar with. pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) have been overcharging customers for years and have been making millions of dollars, while hardworking Kentuckians are struggling to pay for live-saving drugs like insulin, inhalers, EpiPens, and much more. It is time for companies to focus on who they represent rather than trying to turn a large profit.

The legislature has been committed at looking at ways to hold PBMs accountable while lowering drug prices for Kentuckians. One of those ways is through legislation restricting PBMs from imposing requirements on patients within Kentucky. SB 50, passed in 2020, helped to lower drug prices for Medicaid by limiting the number of PBMs our Managed Care Organizations could contract with, led to over $482 million savings for Medicaid according to DMS in 2022. However, SB 50 only applies to Medicaid. Another piece of legislation the General Assembly has passed is HB 95 which caps the cost-sharing requirements for prescription insulin at $30 per 30-day supply for those on the Kentucky Employee Health Plan.  The Kentucky Patient Assistance Program is another way for patients struggling to pay the high cost of insulin and other medications to receive assistance.

For more information about NCSL and the seminar, please visit https://www.ncsl.org/. For more information about legislation passed by the Kentucky General Assembly, please visit legislature.ky.gov.