WMC, businesses oppose elimination of direct delivery of drugs to providers

In a letter to legislators, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) and a coalition of 53 business groups and employers opposed legislation that would eliminate a process that delivers clinically administered drugs directly to providers, according to a statement from WMC. The bill, AB 718/SB 753, would eliminate the practice, known as “white bagging,” which the group feels is a necessary tool to address significant hospital markups and keep medications affordable. A recent study prepared for PhRMA found that on average hospitals charge 479% of their cost for drugs nationwide. Eighty-three percent of hospitals charge patients and insurers more than double their acquisition cost for medicine, marking up the medicines 200% or more. The letter further explained that the WMC and the coalition feel that employers and employees are bearing the brunt of significantly inflated prices for clinically administered drugs.