Sen. Carpenter: Prescription Drug Task Force Recommendations a Great Step Forward for Wisconsin

(MADISON)—Today, Senator Tim Carpenter issued the following statement following the release of the “Report of the Governor’s Task Force on Reducing Prescription Drug Prices:”

“I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have served on the Governor’s Task Force on Reducing Prescription Drug Prices and thank Governor Tony Evers for recognizing how important an issue this is for so many people in our state,” said Sen. Carpenter (D-Milwaukee).

“Without a doubt, the price of prescription drugs is one of the issues I hear about the most from my constituents and it is something that has a tremendous impact on the ability of many people to do some of the things many of us take for granted,” Sen. Carpenter stated. “The Task Force’s recommendations are a great step forward for Wisconsin, as long as they are enacted into law.”

Among the many recommendations of the Governor’s Task Force on Reducing Prescription Drug Prices:

• Limit the copay amount an insurer can charge a patient for a month’s supply of insulin. There are an estimated 439,000 adults in Wisconsin who have been diagnosed with diabetes, an estimated 135,000 others have it but do not know it, and 1.6 million have prediabetes.
• Enhance consumer protections by hiring additional anti-trust attorneys within the Department of Justice to focus solely on pharmaceutical industry practices. As with any other business, there are some pharmaceutical companies who do have the best interests of the consumer in mind, but only their bottom line. These attorneys would fight that.
• Increase the annual state appropriation to free and charitable clinics to expand access to pharmacy services. Free and charitable clinics are a safety net to an estimated 150,000 people in Wisconsin, many of whom require prescription drugs. This recommendation would go a long way in helping these clinics keep up with their demand.

“I am so happy to have been asked to serve on the Task Force and sincerely appreciate the efforts by all the members to address this very important issue,” Sen. Carpenter said. “Hopefully, in the next session, there will be the bipartisan support this issue deserves.”

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