Democrats in Michigan’s legislative majority could be looking to the period after the November general election to pass bills aimed at lowering drug costs.
The timeline matters, because the party has control of the House, Senate, and governor's office for the first time in decades, but control of the House is up for grabs in the election.
A bill package to create a prescription drug affordability board has been stalled in a House committee since last fall after passing the state Senate.
Senator Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) sponsors the package. He said he believes making medications more accessible is a priority for his party regardless of election outcomes.
“You know we only have a short period of time between now and the end of the year, it is my belief that we will attempt to do as much as we can in order to accomplish all of the things that we set out to accomplish under this majority,” Camilleri said.
While Camilleri’s package hasn’t seen movement, the House did advance a bill that would require new reports from drug makers when select medications see big enough price increases. That bill passed the House in late June, right before lawmakers went on summer break.
It’s unclear when or if that bill could get a hearing before the Senate Health Policy Committee.
But Camilleri, who doesn’t sit on that committee, said he’s open to solutions other than his package as he works out the best way to move forward with House leadership.
“I do know that there is interest in other pieces of legislation as well and so there might be a conversation of packing together an entire prescription drug affordability bill set that might include the prescription drug affordability board but other measures as well,” Camilleri.
This comes as Michigan Democrats have spent the last few weeks celebrating the anniversary of the federal Inflation Reduction Act.
That act allowed Medicare to start negotiating the price for 10 specific medications.
He said any proposed Michigan solution should copy that principle but on a broader scale for the state level.
