Gov. Tony Evers announced Tuesday, Feb. 3, that his 2021-23 biennial budget proposal will include provisions to lower prescription drug costs for Wisconsin citizens.
The proposal also includes increased transparency and consumer protection, as well as access to life-saving medications.
“No Wisconsinite should have to choose between paying their bills and affording their prescription medication,” said Gov. Evers. “Picking up your prescription shouldn't break the bank, but we know too many Wisconsinites continue to struggle to afford their medications. That's just not right. Healthcare—medications or otherwise—shouldn’t be a privilege afforded only to the healthy and wealthy, and that's why we are going to be tackling this issue head-on in our budget.”
In 2019, Gov. Evers created the Governor's Task Force on Reducing Prescription Drug Prices to gather and analyze data to make recommendations for reducing prescription drug prices in Wisconsin.
The governor's recent proposal builds off of the preestablished task force.
“Picking up a medication shouldn’t break the bank, but it often does for our families and our seniors with the rising costs of healthcare and prescription drugs,” said Gov. Evers. “We have to do more to make sure that healthcare is affordable and accessible, and I’m looking forward to our Task Force on Reducing Prescription Drug Prices helping us get to work on reducing costs for prescription drugs in Wisconsin.”
Several key initiatives of the task force include:
- Establishing a $50 copay cap on insulin to ensure insulin is affordable for all Wisconsinites
- Creating an Insulin Safety Net Program to ensure folks never need to choose between rationing insulin and meeting other basic needs
- Creating a Prescription Drug Affordability Review Board to establish prescription drug spending targets for public sector entities and establishing price limits and
- Increasing consumer protections for Wisconsinites from attempts to artificially raise prices or mislead consumers through deceptive marketing and advertising practices
