Syverson, Rockford pharmacist differ on Illinois prescription drug law

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — On Tuesday, Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Prescription Drug Affordability Board Act into law, which would set price limits on drugs, ban spread pricing and steering by prescription benefit managers (PBMs) to pharmacies they own or control, and limit the misclassification of commonly used medications as specialty drugs.

The bill received widespread support in the Illinois legislature.

Pharmacist Raj Patel, the owner of Downtown Discount Drugs, 325 W State Street, celebrated the passage of the bill on Wednesday.

“This is the biggest bipartisan bill for health care reform in the last several years,” he said. “We have been working on this thing for the last ten years. IPHA (Illinois Pharmacists Association), CPESN (Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Network) are all national organizations that have been working for the last ten years.”

Patel said PBMs have had an outsized influence on the price and drug choice, and according to critics, steered patients toward pharmacies they have an investment in.

“Today, PBMs make negotiations with the drug companies. That’s where rebates go. They make negotiations with the formularies of the insurance companies. So, what can a patient get? The formulary is restricted. They decide that. So and now what we get paid is also decided by them,” Patel said.

The lone dissenting vote was that of Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Cherry Valley).

Syverson said his ‘No’ vote was based on a $15 tax on health insurance levied on PBMs, which he expects will be passed on to consumers.

“They disguised as, ‘oh, we want to hold these pharmaceutical companies accountable.’ Well, they could have held them accountable without putting a tax on, a $15 per covered life per year tax, with most of that just going to the state’s budget,” Syverson said. “And then, a small portion of it to create a new agency to give out some grants to rural pharmacies.”

Patel said the act will bring a new day for pharmacies and patients.

“The biggest reform it will bring, the cost of health care down. It will go up, more accessibility for the patient, and will make prescriptions a little cheaper and accessible,” he said.

The law goes into effect on July 7th.