WASHINGTON, D.C. — Patients in Maine are celebrating the passage of a new law that would help Mainers understand why prescription drugs prices keep rising. Patients For Affordable Drugs NOW, a patient advocacy organization, applauded passage of the bill.
“My 5-year-old son, Dakota, needs insulin to live,” said Sabrina Burbeck, a single mom who lives in Old Town. “When drug corporations charge $200-a-vial for a drug invented in the 1920s, we should all worry and demand change. There is no justifiable reason that his insulin costs keep going up, and the fear of my son losing his life-saving medicine keeps me up at night.”
A bipartisan group of Maine state legislators passed LD 1406 in April. The legislation, which became law yesterday, allows the Maine Health Data Organization to gather information from drug corporations about their pricing practices and to report its findings to citizens in Maine.
Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is a bipartisan advocacy organization focused exclusively on policies to lower drug prices. To maintain its independence, P4ADNow does not accept funding from organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs.
For Maine patient interviews, contact Juliana Keeping.
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