But price spikes on some critical treatments have hit consumers hard. The U.S. Government Accountability Office last year found that 315 generic drugs more than doubled in price since 2010.
Maryland’s Frosh said the aim is to deter future steep increases. Before the law was passed, drugmakers had suggested setting a minimum increase of 100% as a threshold for investigation, but state officials feared that would incentivize price hikes up to that point, according to Frosh’s office.
Several states have passed laws requiring drugmakers to disclose price increases, but the Maryland law is one of a few drawing the most attention from the drug industry.
Nevada has been sued by two industry trade groups after passing in June a law requiring diabetes drugmakers to justify price increases above a certain amount.
Ohio voters next year will decide on a ballot measure requiring drugmakers to offer state groups the same discounts given to the federal Department of Veterans Affairs. A similar measure failed in California last year, but the state’s legislature this week approved a drug pricing bill requiring drugmakers to justify price increases over 16% in a two-year period. It now goes to the state’s governor for a final decision.
“The states have decided to try and deal with this on their own,” says David Gibbons an attorney at Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, which specializes in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
