Monday, August 20, 2012

An update on the generic only issue

This summer, the National MS Society has been closely watching the development of Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler's rules that require insurers to offer brand name prescription drug coverage rather than just coverage of generic drugs. As people with MS know, there is no generic drug to treat MS (the brand name drugs on the market will have a "generic" biosimilar in the future due to the Affordable Care Act) and so an insurance policy without brand name drug coverage is just about meaningless to someone with MS.

We sent out an Action Alert on this issue and 137 people responded - an incredible response, but one that shows how important the issue is to people with MS. MS Activists also spoke at a recent hearing in Olympina on the issue.

Along with other chronic disease organizations like the American Cancer Society and the Arthritis Foundation, we submitted a statement to Commissioner Kreidler in support of the regulations. See that statement here.

Fore more information on the issue, see this blog post or this news article that mentions multiple sclerosis as a reason why the changes needs to be made.

No comments:

Post a Comment