Like its neighbors, Vermont is getting tough with the pharmaceutical industry. The Green Mountain state is pushing legislation that would punish drugmakers for their ‘unconscionable’ prices and ban the use of physician prescribing data. A bill approved by the state’s senate finance committee last week would also require a subsidized health program to consult researchers about drug effectiveness.

“We are doing this as part of an ongoing effort to curb the cost of pharmaceuticals, which are a major driver in the increasing cost of health care,” says senate finance chair Ann Cummings, a Democrat. “There is no one way to reduce pharmaceutical costs. We are continually trying to get a little more control.”

Lining up to support the effort is the Vermont Medical Society, the Office of Vermont Health Access and the state’s attorney general. Opposing the bill is Phrma and IMS Health.

You can read more about this looming slugfest in The Burlington Free Press.

[tags]Prescribing Data, Pricing[/tags]