Health coalition pushes ban on brand-name drug price gouging

The Maryland Health Care for All! Coalition says it wants to make brand name and specialty drugs—including those for multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, and hepatitis C—more affordable. Coalition President Vincent DeMarco said a final bill is being drafted and will be a "pathbreaking way to address the problem" of expensive drugs. Prices for specialty drugs rose by an average of nearly 10% between 2014 and 2015, marking the largest annual increase in more than a decade, according to a 2017 study by the AARP Public Policy Institute. Maryland state Sen. Richard Madaleno Jr. (D) says the current status of medication accessibility "perpetuates income inequality and unfairness." In 2017, the coalition helped Maryland become the first state in the nation to pass legislation to prohibit price gouging of generic and off-patent drugs.