Sen. Lesser Celebrates Signing of Prescription Drug Task Force Bill

HARTFORD –  Today, State Senator Matt Lesser (D-Middletown), Senate Chair of the Human Services Committee, joined as Governor Lamont signed into law several of the recommendations of the bipartisan, bicameral Prescription Drug Task Force.

The task force was chaired by Senator Lesser, State Representative Jillian Gilchrest (D-West Hartford), State Senator Jeff Gordon (R-Woodstock) and State Representative Tracy Marra (R-Darien) and brought together a bipartisan coalition of legislators, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, experts from the pharmaceutical industry, advocates and patients to determine a legislative solution to protecting and expanding patient care.

The provisions in the bill include:

-Directing the Department of Social Services (DSS) to work with federal partners to seek generic production of name-brand GLP-1 weight loss drugs like Mounjaro and Wegovy

-Establishing a program to import safe, low cost drugs from Canada

-Establishing a duty of good faith and fair dealing for Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM) to act in the best interest of the health carrier or other health benefit plan sponsor, and requires disclosure to the insurance department of pricing and profits when one parent company owns a PBM, insurer and/or pharmacy

-Disclosing any conflict of interest to a plan sponsor that might keep a PBM from fulfilling its duty of good faith and fair dealing

-Directing the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) to to address supply chain issues by moving production to Connecticut

-Ensuring that drug costs be credited against a patient’s deductible, even if the drug is outside of the plan’s preferred drug list or purchased for cash

-Directing the state to engage in bulk purchasing of drugs and piggyback off federal Medicare negotiated prices in purchasing

-Requiring PBMs to offer plan sponsors the option of participating in a pass-through pricing model that prevents the PBM from charging more for a prescription than was paid to the dispensing pharmacy, protecting community pharmacies from monopolistic market pressure

-Creating a task force to study drug shortages, strengthening the supply chain and producing vital medication in Connecticut

The provision allowing DSS to work with the federal Department of Health and Human Services to seek generic production of name-brand GLP-1 weight loss drugs like Mounjaro and Wegovy is the first of its nature and could be a significant disruptor in the prescription drug market.

The report in its entirety can be found here.

“This is landmark legislation,” said Sen. Lesser. “It’s remarkable for anything to be bipartisan these days. But Connecticut has now passed the strongest, most forward-thinking prescription drug legislation in the country with overwhelming bipartisan support. I’m deeply grateful to my colleagues, particularly to my co-chairs on the task force, and to Governor Lamont for signing this into law. I look forward to working together with our state and federal partners to deliver meaningful relief for patients.”