Governor Baker Estimates $70 Million in Overcharging Penalties

A 2022 budget proposal released by Governor Charlie Baker estimates that $70 million will be collected from pharmaceutical companies for overcharging. The majority of the funds will go to a trust fund for community health centers and hospitals. Skeptics suggest that proposing penalties during the COVID-19 pandemic is the wrong time.

According to pharma trade association PhRMA, “As the industry continues to focus on developing vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, we need policies that support America’s collaborative research ecosystem, not hinder it,” adding, “Gov. Baker’s shortsighted proposal could limit the availability of medicines to patients in the Commonwealth, and could have long-term harmful effects on innovation and the development of new, life-saving therapies.” Read more here.

(Source: Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine, 2/1/21)