Preferred-drug plan on tap for '06 session
Rep. Steve Mascaro, R-West Jordan, has opened a bill file to revive the creation of a "preferred drug list," or PDL, which the Utah Department of Health estimates will save the state between $4 million and $5 million a year in prescription drug costs.
Last month, the Executive Appropriations Committee denied a health department request to run a test program on just two classes of drugs. The failed effort is the second time the health department has tried to shore up legislative support for a PDL in Utah.
Both times, the move died in the Legislature's head budget committee — an inappropriate place for such decisions to be made, Mascaro said Friday.
The Appropriations Committee should focus primarily on fiscal issues, he said, not matters of widespread public policy.
"In my mind . . . they established a legislative policy with that decision, and I think policy should be reserved for the full Legislature," Mascaro said. "We now have the opportunity and the absolute responsibility to bring this forward during the full session."
"We appreciate the support of Representative Mascaro and agree there is a need for PDLs. We will continue to work with the legislature to answer any of their concerns," she said. "PDLs are a good way to save money for the state and at the same time benefit patients."
Advocates for the poor, disabled and elderly have also supported the plan — which would limit the prescription medications Medicaid patients could receive to those on a predetermined list. Health department director Dr. David Sundwall told lawmakers in June that the registry would ideally encourage doctors to prescribe medications that often have been around for a while but are as effective as the new and usually more expensive ones.
News of Mascaro's plan was well-received Friday when he announced his intentions at the monthly meeting of Utah Issues, the state's leading poverty research and advocacy group. "We'll be right behind you," promised policy analyst Judi Hilman.
Rather than pass legislation mandating the creation of a PDL, Mascaro intends to run a resolution affirming the health department's authority to do so and encouraging officials to move forward on the matter. The as-yet undrafted resolution would also have an accountability element, Mascaro said, such as requiring an analysis of the program after a prescribed time period to measure its effectiveness.
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