House Bill To reduce State Costs, Ensure Medicaid Patient Access To GLP-1 Medications

HARRISBURG – With the growing demand for GLP-1 medications to treat obesity, Reps. Arvind Venkat (D-Allegheny) and Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) are preparing to introduce legislation that would ensure those drugs remain available to Medical Assistance patients while significantly cutting costs to the state. The bill would allow Pennsylvania to purchase GLP-1 medications for Medicaid patients at a lower cost by implementing a “subscription model” – a system in which a state agrees to pay a certain amount per treatment up to a cap, at which point the drug manufacturer provides additional treatments at no cost. The subscription model gives a state the flexibility to find a good price based on bulk purchasing and ensures greater certainty for pharmaceutical costs. Drug companies have shown a willingness to participate because of the large-scale nature of the purchase. The lawmakers will begin gathering co-sponsors for the legislation today and plan to introduce it later this week.