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Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Court date for Maine Rx canceled
Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||
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A court hearing scheduled this week on Maine Rx has been canceled, further delaying full implementation of the state's groundbreaking prescription drug program. The program, which would allow the state to bargain with drug manufacturers and pass discounts to uninsured residents, has been tied up in litigation since it became law four years ago. Despite a favorable decision from the U.S. Supreme Court in May giving Maine permission to experiment with drug price reduction, the program is only partially up and running. The program is still in court because of the mechanism it contains to encourage drug companies to enter negotiation with the state and offer discounts. According to the law, if a company does not participate, the state can make it harder for its products to be sold through the otherwise unrelated Medicaid program, using a process called "prior authorization." The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, an industry trade group, has requested that the state seek approval from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services before engaging drug manufacturers in negotiations because the program would result in a change to Medicaid, which is federally regulated. The state argues that it needs no approval to move forward now, because at least initially it plans to use incentives to reward cooperating drug companies instead of prior authorization. Oral arguments on the issue were scheduled to be held Wednesday, but have been put off because U.S. District Court Judge D. Brock Hornby removed himself from the case. In a document filed Monday, Hornby said that while preparing for the hearing he realized that his wife's company, Hornby Zeller Associates Inc., has a contract with the Division of Family Health of the Maine Department of Human Services. Since the department is a party to the case, Hornby said it would be improper for him to rule on it. The case has been reassigned to Judge John Woodcock in Bangor. When it was passed, Maine Rx was supposed to deliver deep discounts to 350,000 uninsured residents regardless of income. Eligibility was later limited to people with incomes up to 3 1/2 times the poverty level, keeping it open to 275,000 people. The program, now called Maine Rx Plus, is assisting about 100,000 uninsured Maine residents by offering discounts of 10 to 25 percent on brand name drugs and more on generics, according to Jude Walsh, state Director of Health Care Management. But so far all of the discount comes from participating retail pharmacies, and not price breaks from drug manufacturers. Advocates for the program blamed the delay in launching the program on PhRMA, the drug-industry trade group. "They are doing what they've always done," said Tom Bradley, a lawyer with the Maine Citizen Leadership Fund. "Anything Maine is doing that other states might duplicate, they oppose. You fight one battle, they go on to the next one." A lawyer for PhRMA did not return a phone call seeking comment Monday. Staff Writer Gregory D. Kesich can be contacted at 791-6336 or at: gkesich@pressherald.com
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