N.D. Senate committee hears proposals to lower prescription drug costs
Brayden Zenker
BISMARCK The Senate Human Services Committee heard testimony on three bills aimed at getting North Dakota consumers access to lower prescription prices.
“Most of us have never heard a good explanation of why the same drug a few miles across the border [in Canada] sells for 40%, 30% or sometimes even 20% of the price we pay in this country,” said Sen. Howard Anderson Jr., R-Turtle Lake (District 8), who introduced all three.
The first of the three, SB 2170, would create a system to set payment rates for prescription drugs based on international prices, specifically the price of those drugs in Canada. The bill would compare prescription drug prices in America to prices in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec. After comparison, the lowest price would be used as reference rate, or maximum rate, for consumers.