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Citing the importance of ensuring Floridians have access to health care services, the Senate President is shifting the policy focus toward addressing critical health care workforce shortages through the “Live Healthy” initiative. Speaking to the importance of addressing this issue, Senate President Passidomo commented:

“If we do not take steps now to grow our health care workforce, all Floridians, even those with great insurance, and certainly those on Medicaid, will continue to face barriers to care.  My goal is to make sure our health care system is growing and innovating to better serve all Floridians. The robust package that Senator Burton, Senator Harrell, and I have been working on will expand Florida’s health care workforce with new opportunities for education, training and retention.”

International Drug Reference Pricing

Chair Fine Poses Question to Prescription Drug Manufacturers 

" I agree with you. Price controls are terrible. Why do your companies choose to sell their drugs in countries that have price controls? Why don't they just say no? "

Prescription drug pricing is again on the agenda as legislators return to Tallahassee for the 2024 Legislative Session. On Monday, January 8, 2024, the House Health Policy Committee, chaired by State Representative Randy Fine, heard presentations surrounding international drug reference pricing as House policymakers explore proposals to address the issue. 

Andrew Mulcahy, a Senior Health Economist at RAND Corporation, presented a detailed briefing to the Florida House of Representatives Health and Human Services Committee, focusing on drug pricing in the United States compared to other countries. According to his analysis, although generic drugs in the U.S. are generally cheaper, brand-name drugs are significantly more costly, often three times the price of countries like Canada. 

Mulcahy commented that this disparity is influenced by the roles of various stakeholders in the U.S. healthcare system, including manufacturers, insurers, pharmacy benefit managers, and patients, who all contribute to determining gross and net drug prices. The RAND study compared U.S. prices with those in 32 higher-income OECD countries; Mulcahy stated U.S. drug prices remained substantially higher after rebates.  

Drew Gattine, Senior Policy Consultant at the NASHP Center for Drug Pricing, presented material emphasizing the growing challenge of prescription drug affordability in the United States. He highlighted the increasing costs of prescription drugs compared to other medical services and discussed legislative efforts across states to manage these costs. 

Gattine commented on NASHP's model legislation, focusing on international reference rates and upper payment limits to control drug prices. According to Gattine, these measures demonstrate significant projected savings in states like Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Maine. He concluded that NASHP has conducted a thorough legal analysis of its model legislation.

Drug Importation

On Friday, January 5, 2024, Florida received FDA approval for its Canadian Prescription Drug Importation Program. This initiative, spearheaded by Governor Ron DeSantis and the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) 37 months ago, is publicized as having the potential to save Florida $180 million annually, according to Governor DeSantis. The program initially focuses on select drug classes for chronic conditions, with plans to extend to a broader range of medications, including those covered by Medicaid.

Live Healthy Legislation

Clears Final Senate Committee

Senator Colleen Burton, Chair of the Senate Health Policy Committee, successfully amended and passed SB 7016 and SB 7018 relating to the Live Healthy initiative through the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee on Thursday, January 11, 2024.  A priority of Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, the bills have cleared all committees of reference and are headed to the full Senate for consideration.  This legislation addresses workforce shortage concerns, providing avenues to educate, train, and retain tomorrow’s Florida health care providers.   

The FOMA and its partners are working with the sponsor and others to address concerns relating to the interstate compact for physicians. We will keep you informed as this issue progresses through the process.

Legislative Research

To date, legislators have filed 276 bills of interest to the FOMA. For more information, please CLICK HERE to visit the FOMA’s webpage, which contains a comprehensive list of bills for the 2024 Legislative Session. Click on the bill number to see all pertinent information concerning the bill. This list is updated in real-time as we become aware of and input new legislation in our tracking system.