STAND. COM. REP. 473

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: H.B. No. 13

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 13 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PRESCRIPTION DRUG COST CONTROL,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to provide Hawaii residents with access to prescription drugs at reasonable prices by:

(1) Establishing a prescription drug cost control education program aimed at educating physicians and other health care providers authorized to prescribe or dispense prescription drugs about the costs and benefits of various prescription drugs; and

(2) Requiring pharmaceutical manufacturers doing business in Hawaii to submit annual reports that disclose certain advertising, marketing, and promotional expenditures in the State.

Testimony in support of this bill was submitted by the Hawaii State Teachers Association, ILWU Local 142, and American Association of Retired Persons. The Office of Information Practices (OIP) suggested amendments. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America opposed this bill. The Board of Pharmacy offered comments on this measure.

Your Committee finds that the cost of prescription drugs has risen significantly in recent years. Your Committee has reason to believe that direct-to-consumer advertising may contribute to these rising costs, in part by making certain prescription drugs household names, and increasing sales of such drugs even while less costly generic and other alternative drugs are available.

Your Committee believes that this problem may be addressed by requiring pharmaceutical manufacturers to disclose certain advertising, marketing, and promotion expenditures. This bill requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to submit annual reports disclosing such information.

In addition, your Committee believes that requiring disclosure of certain pharmaceutical manufacturer expenditures sufficiently addresses the problem of the relationship between marketing expenditure, drug popularity, and rising prescription drug costs. Accordingly, this bill has been amended to delete all references to the educational program and its funding.

Furthermore, your Committee has amended this bill as suggested by OIP, to permit trade secret information, as defined in section 482B-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), to remain confidential. Your Committee finds this consistent with chapter 92F, HRS, the Uniform Information Practices Act, which permits government agencies to withhold trade secrets from disclosure when necessary to prevent the frustration of a legitimate government function.

Technical, nonsubstantive amendments have also been made for purposes of clarity and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 13, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 13, H.D. 1.

 

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce,

 

____________________________

KENNETH T. HIRAKI, Chair