Tony Evers Announces Plan to Lower Prescription Drug Costs

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MADISON – Today, Democratic nominee for Governor, Tony Evers, announced his “Pay Less for Rx” plan to lower prescription drug costs in Wisconsin. As Governor, Tony will protect coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and address skyrocketing healthcare costs, including making expensive prescriptions more affordable for Wisconsin families.

“We shouldn’t have to use GoFundMe to pay for medical bills, and we shouldn’t walk into our pharmacies wondering whether a prescription is going to cost an arm or a leg or both,” said Evers. “The bottom line is that too often health care isn’t affordable in Wisconsin, in large part due to the high price of prescription drugs. It’s time for us to change that. My plan will hold pharmaceutical companies accountable, while lowering the cost of prescription drugs for Wisconsin families.”

Increasing demand for prescription drugs has allowed pharmaceutical companies to exploit and overcharge hardworking Wisconsinites for necessary treatment. Meanwhile, states like Wisconsin are forced to pay skyrocketing drug prices at the expense of funding our schools and roads. Tony will hold pharmaceutical companies accountable, protect consumers from predatory pricing practices, and save tax dollars on prescription drug purchases.

Tony Evers’ “Pay Less for Rx” Plan for Wisconsin

Stop prescription price gouging and consumer exploitation

• Tony will protect Wisconsin seniors and families by establishing a consumer watchdog to prevent price gouging and review pharmaceutical drug price increases.
• Tony will prevent consumer price gouging by empowering a prescription drug price review board to review drug price increases, fine violators for excessive increases, and refund consumers for overpayment.

Demand transparency and accountability from Big Pharma

• Tony will ban gag orders that prevent Wisconsin families from saving money on life-saving prescriptions. Pharmacist contracts with powerful pharmaceutical companies often include these “gag clauses,” prohibiting pharmacists from telling consumers how to save money on pharmaceutical drug purchases.
• Tony will require:
• Drug companies to justify their price increases, disclose production and marketing costs and report profits and rebates.
• Insurers to identify high-cost drugs and drugs with the greatest cost increases when they file annual rate requests; and
• Pharmacy benefit managers to register with the state and disclose rebate amounts and other price concessions they receive from drug companies.

Support safely reimporting prescription drugs from Canada at a lower cost to Wisconsin families

• Tony will work with legislative leaders and licensed Canadian pharmacists to broker a safe, state-run re-importation deal for prescription drugs from licensed Canadian pharmacies

Protect and expand SeniorCare for Wisconsin’s seniors

• Tony will work to expand SeniorCare to include vaccinations like the flu shot, which are a vital part of preventative health care, especially for our seniors.
• Tony will ensure our seniors can afford increasing prescription drug costs by pledging to protect and extend SeniorCare in Wisconsin. 

Save Wisconsin taxpayer dollars by reducing state expenses on prescription drug purchases

• Tony will save Wisconsin taxpayer dollars by partnering with other states and requiring state agencies work together to maximize Wisconsin’s bulk purchasing and bargaining power to negotiate lower prescription drug costs.
• Tony will explore cutting-edge cost reduction strategies like pay-for-performance and incentive-based pharmacy models that reduce healthcare costs and ensure we’re only using tax dollars to purchase effective prescriptions that work. 

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