Consumer Notes

Sunenblick, Jesse, Consumers' Research Magazine

Maine Rx Price Controls

Maine lawmakers have taken the matter of prescription drug prices into their own hands. Governor Angus King (I), along with legislative leaders, recently approved a measure which will lower drug prices for some consumers by up to 30% by January 1, 2001.

The bill, which uses the bulk purchasing power of the state to negotiate discounts from pharmaceutical manufacturers, will affect some 325,000 Maine residents (approximately 25% of the state's total population) who lack prescription drug coverage as part of their public or private health insurance plan, reports The Wall Street Journal. In addition, if the new program isn't effective in reducing prescription drug prices to a rate comparable to the …

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Publication information: Article title: Consumer Notes. Contributors: Sunenblick, Jesse - Author. Magazine title: Consumers' Research Magazine. Volume: 83. Issue: 6 Publication date: June 2000. Page number: 38. © 1999 Consumers' Research, Inc. COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group.

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