In Review: HCIFS held a work session on two bills PCMA had been tracking. The first bill is LD 796 (Representative Jane Pringle – D), a prior authorization and gold carding bill. PCMA successfully removed the gold carding language in the bill, and ultimately, prior authorization reporting resulted from the bill. The bill that was voted on ought to pass in the HCIFS committee among party lines, with Democrats in the affirmative and Republicans in the negative. Next, LD 1829 (Senator Cameron Reny -D) was introduced as a reference pricing bill where entities could not charge or reimburse for drugs above the Maximum Fair Price set by the Inflation Reduction Act. The bill then received a strike-all amendment giving powers to the Maine Prescription Drug Affordability Board to set upper payment limits for drugs. The bill was voted ought to pass out of committee among party lines, with Democrats in the affirmative and Republicans in the negative. PCMA is awaiting a final language review from the committee before the bills head to the floor.

Up Next: LD 2096 (Senator Troy Jackson – D) is a newly filed bill that would limit prior authorizations for non-opioid and non-narcotic medications. A hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday, February 13.

If you have any questions, please contact Sam Hallemeier at shallemeier@pcmanet.org.