Hogan for Maryland today visited Northern Pharmacy and Medical Equipment in Baltimore to highlight health care affordability issues and the need for bipartisan action to lower prescription drug prices. Northern Pharmacy is an independent, family-owned pharmacy and medical equipment supplier that has been active in the community for over 80 years.
“Health care costs should never get between a patient and the care they need. But far too often, the out-of-control cost of health care is burdening Maryland families. As a cancer survivor, this is something I’ve personally been affected by and watched happen to fellow patients. It’s a crisis—Congress has to act,” Governor Hogan said. “Thank you to Northern Pharmacy President Pepper Mintz for giving me a tour of their facility in Baltimore this morning and for taking the time to discuss these important issues with me. As governor, I was proud to reduce health care premiums by 30%, and in the Senate, I’ll continue working to bring down the cost of health care for Maryland families.”
In addition to enacting historic reforms that reduced premiums by 30%, Governor Hogan supported and signed legislation that held Prescription Benefit Managers (PBM) middlemen who are driving up the cost of prescription drugs accountable and required more transparency. Most PBMs today are owned by massive insurance companies who too often hold onto discounts and get in the way of decisions that should belong to doctors, pharmacists, and their patients.
As a senator, Governor Hogan will fight for legislation that requires these savings to be passed on to patients and taxpayers and lower health care costs. He will vote to force the Federal Trade Commission to aggressively investigate these unfair and abusive pricing schemes that make it more difficult to get the health care seniors need, and make pharmaceutical middlemen accountable to the public.
See here for more information on how Governor Hogan will make life in Maryland more affordable.
