Report Title:

Prescription Drug Access Program

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, prescription drugs are an increasingly significant component in modern health care as new medications improve health outcomes and quality of life, replace surgery and other invasive treatments, quicken recovery for patients who receive these treatments, and prevent serious and costly hospitalization; and

WHEREAS, prescription drug prices are rising twice as fast as inflation, with annual percent increases in prescription expenditures surpassing most other aspects of personal health care expenditures in the past decade and contributing to escalating health insurance and Medicaid costs; and

WHEREAS, one in three Medicare recipients do not have drug coverage; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's uninsured residents pay excessive prices for prescription drugs; and

WHEREAS, in many cases, exorbitant drug prices deny residents access to medically necessary health care, thereby threatening our residents' health and safety; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's elderly population has been growing and is expected to increase dramatically in the near future with the first baby boomers turning 65 years old in 2011; and

WHEREAS, seniors consume one-third of all prescription drugs, averaging ten prescriptions prescribed per year versus three per year for those under age 65, and often live on fixed incomes, yet have minimal drug coverage; and

WHEREAS, an April 2000 study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that fewer employers offer health benefits to future retirees, making declines in drug coverage more likely; and

WHEREAS, the Medicine Bank provides a means of obtaining free or low-cost pharmaceuticals for individuals through community-based health care centers that may not be accessible to everyone; and

WHEREAS, rebates are common practice that most, if not all, third-party insurers secure from pharmaceutical manufacturers to bring discounted prices to their members; and

WHEREAS, Congress has enacted legislation protecting its financial interests with respect to prescription drug costs, such as through the Medicaid rebate program and through the Federal Supply Schedule for the Veterans Health Benefit Plan; and

WHEREAS, Congress has refused to grant similar powers to the states and to allow them to protect the health and welfare interests of their residents; and

WHEREAS, physicians have been reluctant to use programs administered by pharmaceutical companies providing assistance with drugs for the needy which are complicated and vary in eligibility requirements; and

WHEREAS, while the states are aggressively pursuing promising strategies to lower prescription drug costs, the federal government can address the problem more easily because of the multi-state and international nature of the pharmaceutical industry; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-First Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Health is requested to establish a working committee to develop a prescription drug access program for eligible Medicare beneficiaries in Hawaii; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working committee shall consist of nine members including:

(1) The Attorney General, or a designated representative;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working committee address rebates as an integral part of the prescription drug access program and also review pricing and affordability information; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working committee report on its findings to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2002; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the President of the United States and Congress are called upon to lead the nation to immediately address the nationwide problem of high prescription drug costs; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that pharmaceutical companies doing business in Hawaii that have programs to assist in providing prescription drugs to the needy are urged to develop a unified system that can be used by all companies to assist the needy who qualify for medication; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the unified system developed be easy for consumers and physicians to use; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health, Attorney General, Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Director of Human Services, Insurance Commissioner, Pharmacy Manufacturers Association, Hawaii Pharmacists Association, Hawaii's Congressional delegation, and all pharmaceutical companies doing business in Hawaii that have programs to assist in providing prescription drugs to the needy.