Posted At News-Miner.com

BY : R.A. Dillon

A Fairbanks Democrat has introduced a handful of bills to combat rising prescription drug costs.

The seven bills are a mixture of cost-saving measures and industry oversight that attempt to address the high cost of drugs in Alaska.

The bills' sponsor, Rep. David Guttenberg, hopes the measures will spark debate in the Legislature and lead to formation of a task force to take a closer look at the problem.

Nationwide, retail prescription prices increased an average of 8 percent a year from 1994 to 2004, according to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

Alaska's remoteness and small population make it difficult for the state to control drug costs by negotiating bulk rebates from drug manufacturers.

Guttenberg's plan encourages the state to pool its drug-purchasing needs with other states to increase bargaining power and mandates creation of a statewide prescription program for eligible Alaskans."The savings would reduce the cost of drugs for the state and patients," he said.

Guttenberg modeled his proposals on cost-cutting efforts implemented two years ago by the state Department of Health and Human Services.

The Health Department increased its purchasing power by joining a seven-state pool to negotiate greater rebates with drug manufacturers. In addition, the state asks doctors to give preference to those discounted drugs when writing prescriptions.

Director of Healthcare Services Dwayne Peeples said the measures save the state about $8.5 million a year.

The state spent $96 million in 2005 on prescription drugs for Alaska's 125,000 Medicaid recipients.

"We've been pretty aggressive at the state level in trying to control our costs on pharmaceuticals and it's been very successful," Peeples said.

Guttenberg's bills would apply similar measures to benefit the rest of the state.

"We're trying to make sure public and private employees get the same cost reductions on prescription drugs," he said.

Among the measures Guttenberg suggests:

* House Bill 452 creates a task force within the state Department of Health and Social Services to look at ways to reduce the cost of prescription drugs. The task force would gather public input on rising prescription drug prices and prepare a report for the governor and the Legislature.

* House Bill 453 maximizes participation in the federal discount prescription drug program and funds a study on the cost of providing access to discount prescription drugs for uninsured Alaskans.

* House Bill 454 requires drug companies who manufacture or distribute prescription drugs in Alaska to provide an annual report of their marketing and advertising costs.

* House Bill 455 requires pharmacists to use the generic drugs when filling prescriptions unless otherwise requested by the physician or patient.

* House Bill 456 creates a registry of clinical trials for prescription drugs and provides public access to the results of any study done in Alaska.

* House Bill 457 requires marketers of prescription drugs to report to the state money and other gifts given to Alaska doctors.

* House Bill 458 creates a state program to purchase and distribute discounted prescription drugs to eligible Alaskans, including those who have gone without insurance for at least 6 months.

Guttenberg started to look at the cost of prescription drugs two years ago when the Legislature first took up reform of the public employee retirement systems. Rising medical costs have contributed to a $5.7 billion projected shortfall in the state-managed retirement systems for teachers and public employees.

While the Legislature was debating how to limit benefits, Guttenberg said he thought reducing drug costs should be part of the solution.

Guttenberg is convinced the state can save large amounts of money by the state to participate in bulk purchasing programs to access more affordable prescription drugs.

"There should be huge savings, not just for the state, but for the people of the state too," he said.

The bills have so far attracted one co-sponsor. Rep. Beth Kerttula, D-Juneau, agrees with the need to take a closer look at the problem and supports forming a task force.

Kerttula said she was motivated to support Guttenberg's effort after struggling to help her 100-year-old grandmother decipher the federal government's new Medicare prescription drug benefits.

"It was horrible," she said. "And I'm a lawyer."

Guttenberg has modest expectations of the bills, hoping lawmakers agree to form the task force to take a closer look at the other measures.

"We want them all passed, but we understand that it takes a few years for people to get comfortable with major legislation like this," he said. "This is part of a dialog that I think will take a few years to get through the Legislature."

Guttenberg said drug costs may not rank high on many lawmakers' list of priorities, but the issue resonates with voters.

Five out of six people who are 65 or older take at least one medication on a regular basis and nearly half of all elderly in the U.S. take three or more prescription drugs on a regular basis.

The bills were referred to the House Labor and Commerce and Health, Education and Social Services committees.

Wrangell Republican Rep. Peggy Wilson, chairwoman of the Health, Education and Social Services Committee, said she plans to try to combine Guttenberg's and other similar legislation dealing with health care costs pending before her committee.