LANSING — As Michigan residents drop off their unused prescriptions at designated locations for National Drug Take Back Day, doctors across the state are calling for Michigan lawmakers to take up bills that would rein in the high cost of prescription drugs.
Creation of a Michigan Prescription Drug Affordability Board, which would decide how much residents have to pay for some of the most expensive drugs, is pending before the Michigan Legislature.
“Michigan residents are suffering from the high cost of their prescription drugs and need the type of relief that would come from setting up a Michigan Prescription Drug Affordability Board,” said Dr. Farhan Bhatti, Lansing family physician and State Lead for the Committee to Protect Health Care. “On National Drug Take Back Day, doctors like me are calling attention to the plight of many Michiganders when it comes to making the tough choice between paying for their life-saving prescription drugs and paying for other everyday needs. It’s a choice that doesn’t have to be made if Michigan lawmakers tackled the issue of affordability.”
Maryland was the first state to create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board and other states such as Colorado have passed similar legislation.
“National Drug Take Back Day offers an opportunity for Michigan residents to properly dispose of their unused medications, some of which came with a high price tag,” said Dr. Rob Davidson, West Michigan emergency physician and Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Health Care. “Michigan lawmakers can do the right thing and rein in the high cost of prescription drugs by taking up this bicameral legislation and passing the Michigan Prescription Drug Affordability Board.”
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