(Source: MIRS.news, Published 01/10/2024) Prescription drug affordability and other bills that are in progress will be prioritized in 2024, said Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) after the Senate adjourned today, the year's constitutionally required first day of session.
Brinks said prescription drug affordability moved very quickly through the Senate because members were already familiar with the policy, but “bandwidth and getting people comfortable with the concepts” in the House may be causing a holdup.
In a statement sent out Wednesday, the Committee to Protect Health Care, the Michigan League for Public Policy and “People First” sent out a joint release calling on the House of Representatives to vote on its creation.
The board would bring relief to struggling families and support small businesses, the release said.
Prescription drug affordability boards exist in six other states.
“This is not a new fix to an old problem. It's been tested, and Michigan should be the next state to join in this effort to help families who are being harmed daily by Big Pharma's greed," said Dr. Rob Davidson, executive director of the Committee to Protect Health Care.
Brinks said other policies that have been referred to committees will be approached by committee chairs as they gather more information.
Legislators are interested in anything from the population council’s report that strengthens education, systems that help Michiganders thrive through different stages of their life and make them want to stay in Michigan.
Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Lawton) said tax relief for working families is his priority.
“After the Democrats spent a year making it more expensive to do business in the State of Michigan, taking away accountability measures on our school districts and increasing the cost and decreasing reliability of electricity, my hope is that we can find ways to actually lower costs here in Michigan, to increase our competitiveness and increase the accountability and choice for families and education in schools,” Nesbitt said.
