Maine Citizens Demand Prescription Drug Pricing Action in Public Hearing; 219,000 Mainers Can’t Afford Medication

Maine recently held a public meeting where Mainers discussed how skyrocketing drug prices lead to extreme financial hardship, pain, and even death. Maine legislators have recently introduced a string of healthcare bills aimed at restricting drug prices, ranging from price caps to high taxes for pharma companies raising prices without justification. A 2020 survey found that 219,000 Mainers can’t afford prescription drugs.

According to Patricia Taniashvili, “We feel like we are being squeezed,” adding, “If you as legislators have the capacity to control these drug prices in some way, which it appears you would with this package of bills, it is your duty. We are not the only ones suffering. There are children and adults with type 1 diabetes in the same dire situation and this is patently unfair to them and us. We are human beings, not bank accounts.” Read more here.

(Source: Evan Popp, Maine Beacon, 4/13/21)