Getting On Board

CE Alsobrooks Joins with Top Leaders in Call for Lower Drug Costs

Drug prices are rising at a rate that’s outpacing inflation. To many people, the high cost of prescription drugs is a hard pill to swallow. In Maryland, there may be a remedy for that coming soon, and that’s good news because pharmaceutical companies just upped the price of their drugs - again.

In a call to action, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks joined top leaders from Montgomery, Howard, Frederick, Harford, Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties in Cambridge to emphasize the need for lower drug costs at the Prescription Drug Affordability Board Legislation press conference.

According to the Financial Times, each year Americans spend an average of $1,112 on prescription drugs - 44 percent higher than Canadians, the next highest spending group. And in some cases, Americans are spending that or much more each month.

At the 2019 General Assembly that begins this week, lead sponsor Maryland Delegate Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D) and Maryland Senator Katherine Klausmeier (D) will be introducing new legislation for a state board that would provide oversight, monitoring and assessing drug prices in Maryland. Regulating the cost of prescription drugs would make the medications more fair and affordable for Marylanders.

“This issue essentially addresses families who are under attack everyday...There was an article in the WSJ, three dozen drug companies increased their prices on January 1 by an average of six percent,” said Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D).

Harford County Executive Barry Glassman (R) adds that everyone is feeling the strain and pain of high prescription drug costs, “This is a bi-partisan issue. It doesn’t matter which zip code, whether you are red or blue; rich or poor… It touches all of our families.”

Stay tuned.