[T]he Vermont House of Representatives delayed a vote Thursday on a bill that would require state regulators to produce an annual report about the price of prescription drugs.
The House postponed the bill so that the House Health Care Committee could take additional testimony on the bill next week, according to Rep. Bill Lippert, D-Hinesburg.
The bill in question, H.866, directs the Green Mountain Care Board, the main regulator for health care reform efforts, to develop an annual list of prescription drugs that the state spends large sums of money on.
Once the board identifies the list of expensive drugs, the bill directs the board to require drug manufacturers to provide information on the different factors that are often cited as reasons for high prescription drug costs.
Among the requirements, manufacturers would need to report how long a drug has been on the market, the lifetime of the manufacturer’s patent on the drug, the cost of research and development for developing the drug, and the cost the manufacturer paid for clinical trials while developing the drug.
The Green Mountain Care Board would produce a report with all the information in the bill on Dec. 1.
