Insurance Reform In The News

A coalition of groups involved in the healthcare debate will today unveil a new effort to rein in the pharmaceutical industry's marketing efforts, which they say contribute to the rising cost of medical care.

Members of the newly formed Massachusetts Prescription Reform Coalition said that rapid growth in the cost of prescription drugs threatens the state's new healthcare law and other efforts to extend insurance coverage to all residents.

"There is an urgent need in Massachusetts to control healthcare costs, to sustain healthcare reform, and avoid croaking the overall economy," said John McDonough, executive director of Health Care for All, an advocacy group that played a lead role in shaping the new law.

"One of the smart ways to aggressively control costs is to minimize and where possible eliminate inappropriate marketing practices by pharmaceutical companies," he said.

But the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, an industry group, said the new effort was little more than mudslinging.

"This campaign seems to be less about good public policy and more about animosity toward the biopharmaceutical industry," said Stephen Mulloney, director of policy and public affairs for the council. "Their agenda is to throw a bunch of onerous legislation against the wall and see if any of it will stick."

Mulloney said the coalition's efforts would hurt Massachusetts biotech companies that have approved drugs.

The new coalition was created by Health Care for All and includes a wide range of members, including AARP, the advocacy group for older Americans; consumer advocate Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group; the American Heart/American Stroke Association; and health insurers Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Neighborhood Health Plan.

"We're committed to encouraging the use of generic drugs whenever possible because they lower the cost of healthcare for everybody in the system," said Chris Murphy, a spokesman for Blue Cross Blue Shield, the state's largest health insurer. "We think this coalition has the potential to complement our efforts."

The coalition, which will unveil its agenda this morning at a news conference in the State House, has three objectives: