Offered by: Representatives Mullin of Rutland Town and Obuchowski of Rockingham
Whereas, in the United States, drug manufacturers are allowed to discriminate in drug pricing, and
Whereas, drug prices in the aggregate are higher in the United States than anywhere else in the world, and
Whereas, on average Americans pay about 30 percent more for prescription drugs than Canadians, and
Whereas, prescription drug spending is rising faster than any other health expenditure, and
Whereas, providing for affordable access to medically-necessary prescription drugs will lower health care costs, and
Whereas, pharmaceutical companies benefit from public tax dollars appropriated to the National Institutes of Health and other government agencies to pay for a substantial portion of all new prescription drug research, and
Whereas, pharmaceutical companies spend on average twice as much of their own sales revenues on advertising and marketing as they do on research and development, and
Whereas, Vermonters are demanding fair prices for prescription drugs as a matter of public health, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly calls upon our Congressional Delegation to immediately propose and seek passage of legislation that will require any pharmaceutical company which receives or benefits from any federal funding for pharmaceutical research and development to amortize all of the company’s research and development costs over the entire world market for prescription drugs, and be it further
Resolved: That the General Assembly calls upon our Congressional Delegation to immediately propose and seek passage of legislation that will amend 42 U.S.C. Section 381 and other related statutes so as to allow for the free trade of prescription drugs between Canada and the United States, and be it further
Resolved: That the General Assembly calls upon our Congressional Delegation to immediately propose and seek passage of legislation that will restrain the huge expenditures by pharmaceutical companies on advertising and marketing of their products, and be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State is directed to send a copy of this resolution to Vermont’s Congressional Delegation.
___________________________ Attested to:
Speaker of the House
___________________________ ___________________________
President of the Senate Donald G. Milne
Clerk, House of Representatives