Please call or write to support the Prescription Drug Affordability Board (SB759) with the upper payment limits intact.

Please contact members of the Senate Finance Committee listed below ASAP and ask them to support upper payment limits in SB 759.  Please see Reasons to Vote for Upper Payment Limits (UPLs) in SB 759/HB 768 at the bottom of this post.

TEMPLATE FOR EMAIL OR PHONE CALL:

Dear Senator ______________,

My name is ________________and you to support the creation of the Prescription Drug Affordability Board (SB759) with the upper payment limits intact. There are many reasons why upper payment limits (UPLs) are so important, mainly because UPLs involve the entire supply chain including the PBMs, distributors, and the rest of the supply chain ensuring that everyone involved would have to comply. The entire supply chain involvement assures that the lower cost gets to the consumer at the pharmacy counter. Marylanders need legislation that protects patients because having to purchase high cost life saving medications is not an elective decision and we need your help in accessing them.

(You can insert a personal reason or opinion with 2-3 sentences here if you wish, or simply end it here)

Thank you for helping all Marylanders access the life saving medications they need. Again I urge you to vote yes for SB759 with the upper payment limits in place.

Thank you,

YOUR NAME

Senate Finance Committee (Please cut and paste the ones you find relevant to districts targeting for your members)

Members of Senate Finance Committee

(2018 Co-Sponsor) Delores G. Kelley, Chair
District 10 – Baltimore County
Phone: 410-841-3606
Email: delores.kelley@senate.state.md.us
Room: 3E Miller Senate Office Building

(Endorser) Brian J. Feldman, Vice-Chair
District 15 – Montgomery County
Phone: (410) 841-3169
Email: brian.feldman@senate.state.md.us
Room: 104 James Senate Office Building

Malcolm Augustine (Senator-Elect)
District 47 – Prince George’s County
Phone: (410) 841-3745
Email: malcolm.augustine@senate.state.md.us
Room: 3E Miller Senate Office Building

(2018 Co-Sponsor) Pamela Beidle (Senator Elect)
District 32 – Anne Arundel County
Phone: (410) 841-3593
Email: pamela.beidle@senate.state.md.us
Room: 202 James Senate Office Building

(2018 Co-Sponsor) Joanne C. Benson

District 24 – Prince George’s County

Phone: (410) 841-3148

Email: joanne.benson@senate.state.md.us

Room: 214 James Senate Office Building

(2018 Co-Sponsor) Antonio L. Hayes (Senator-Elect)

District 40 – Baltimore City
Phone: (410) 841-3656
Email: antonio.hayes@senate.state.md.us
Room: 222 James Senate Office Building
Senator Stephen S. Hershey, Jr.

District 36 – Caroline, Cecil, Kent & Queen Anne’s Counties

Phone: (410) 841-3639

Email: steve.hershey@senate.state.md.us

Room: 420 James Senate Office Building

J.B. Jennings

District 7 – Baltimore and Harford Counties

Phone: (410) 841-3706

Email: jb.jennings@senate.state.md.us

Room: 423 James Senate Office Building

(2019 Lead Sponsor) Katherine Klausmeier
District 8 – Baltimore County

Phone: (410) 841-3620

Email: katherine.klausmeier@senate.state.md.us

Room: 123 James Senate Office Building

(2018 Co-Sponsor) Benjamin F. Kramer

District 19 – Montgomery County
Phone: (410) 841-3151
Email: Ben.Kramer@senate.state.md.us
Room: 401 Miller Senate Office Building

Edward R. Reilly

District 33 – Anne Arundel County

Phone: (410) 841-3568

Email: edward.reilly@senate.state.md.us

Room: 316 James Senate Office Building

Reasons to Vote for Upper Payment Limits (UPLs) in SB 759/HB 768
1) UPLs will make high cost prescription drugs more affordable for Marylanders.
2) UPLs are constitutional.
a. The MD Attorney General, a respected Maryland law firm, and academic constitutional
scholars have found it to be constitutional.
b. The approach is designed to avoid the problems of the Price Gouging legislation.
c. Drug corporations have produced no legal analysis of why UPLs would not be
constitutional.
3) UPLs involve the entire supply chain.
a. PBMs, distributors, and the rest of the supply chain would have to comply.
b. The entire supply chain involvement assures that the lower cost gets to the consumer at
the pharmacy counter.
4) UPLs will eliminate rebates, which drug corporations have stated
they want to eliminate.
5) UPLs will mean MORE drugs are sold because drugs will be
affordable.
a. Drug corporations want more sales.
b. People in countries that control prescription drug costs have access to all the drugs we
have here in Maryland.
6) UPLs will be phased in which allows:
a. time for developing proper methods of analysis,
b. time to determine what data is needed and how to obtain it,
c. and time to pilot the program with state and local government entities and programs.