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The Business Council opposes the Article VII provisions that allow the Department of Health (“DOH”) under the Medicaid program to essentially remove Drug Utilization Review Board reviews and recommendations in identifying pharmaceuticals that have risen beyond caps; allows further referrals to the DUR board even if there is an existing supplemental rebate contract in place; and eliminates rebate adjustments where manufacturers are given "credit" for other rebates as found in S.1507/A.2007, Article VII, Health & Mental Hygiene, Part B, Sections 6 & 10.
These provisions allow DOH to fix prices without relying on data and denies manufacturers any due process. Further, it allows DOH to ignore the already deep discounts that the state is already receiving on these pharmaceuticals.
As major taxpayers in the state, our members certainly recognize the need to save Medicaid dollars but this proposal is certainly not the proper way to do so. By authorizing DOH to determine a price ceilings arbitrarily without even considering current rebates and discounts, the proposal is setting a precedent of unfair price setting like never before.
The pharmaceutical industry is already one of the most highly regulated industries in the state. Medicaid programs already dictate the price for many drugs. The demand for further price setting for drugs will result in further erosion of this important industry in the state.
The Business Council continues to oppose any mandate that forces a private business to unnecessarily divulge trade secrets and proprietary information, especially in order to impose further price controls on those same private employers. A competitive marketplace is the only basis for our state’s economic success and New York should be encouraging a system that strives for continued innovation through research and development of new products not draconian price control measures.
For these reasons, The Business Council strongly opposes this proposal, and urges its rejection by the Senate and Assembly.