The Massachusetts Senate will take up a major bill on Wednesday – the last day of formal sessions before the Legislature adjourns – aimed at containing the costs of prescription drugs in Massachusetts. An Act relative to pharmaceutical costs, access, and transparency otherwise known as the PACT Act is a long-term Senate priority with various iterations of the bill having passed the chamber over the last two legislative sessions.

Major components of the bill include bringing pharmaceutical manufacturers and pharmacy benefits managers before the state’s Health Policy Commission (HPC) for annual cost trends reviews, similar to how providers and payers currently submit data and testimony to the HPC and CHIA (Center for Health Information and Analysis); advanced notice provisions to the state of new drugs or price increases entering the market; and a Prescription Drug Cost Assistance Program, to be administered by the Department of Public Health, for drugs used to treat chronic conditions that disproportionately impact specific demographics, including people of color.

For more information on AIM’s involvement and advocacy on all major healthcare policy matters on Beacon Hill and how you can get involved in the conversation as an employer stakeholder, please contact Vasundhra Sangar, Vice President of Government Affairs at vsangar@aimnet.org or (617)-262-1180.