NLARx Resolution - January 21, 2011

NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE ASSOCIATION ON PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES Resolution Opposing the Inclusion of a Pharmaceuticals Chapter in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Whereas: State Medicaid programs provide medicines for over 40 million low income Americans. Other state programs directly purchase medicines for hospitals and clinics. To afford these programs, states rely on negotiating strategies that compare therapeutically equivalent drugs and construct Preferred Drug Lists to steer patients towards cost effective treatments; Whereas: The US-Australia FTA, the proposed US-Korea FTA and statements in the an nual Special 301 Report include proposals regulating the operation of government pharmaceutical reimbursement programs in ways that, if applied to Medica id and other state programs, would significantly hamper the ability of states to control medicine costs; Whereas: Trade Agreements are reciprocal by nature, and state government policies that violate the terms may lead to foreign government retaliation. The federal government may preempt state law thorough international agreements. And proposals to l imit the operation of foreign reimbursement programs are likely to lead to increased foreign pressu re to limit similarly operating programs in the U.S.; Whereas: State government officials have repeatedly warned federal trade officials against promoting policies in international agreements that restrict foreign pharmaceutical reimbursement programs that operate similarly to those used by State programs, including through Medicaid; 1 Whereas: Pharmaceutical reimbursement programs do not regulate trade but rather are a core tool for the promotion of public health and welfare, and therefore are not appropriate subjects of trade agreements; Whereas: The office of the U.S. Trade Representative is currently negotia ting the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a plurilateral tr ade agreement among eight nations. To date, no negotiating text has been tabled, but the branded drug lobby has requested the inclusion of a pharmaceutical chapter based on the provisions found in our trade agreements with Australia and Korea. 2 Be it therefore resolved that the National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices (NLARx) urges the U.S. Trade Representative to omit any pha rmaceutical reimbursement provisions from the Trans-Pacific Partnership or any future or pending FTA: Be it further resolved that NLARx urges trade officials to cease consideration of pharmaceutical reimbursement programs within the Special 301 annual review of in tellectual property practices; 1 See bit.ly/fNzFeZ for past communiqués (resolutions, letters, testimony, and submissions to trade panels). 2 Examples of industry lobbying for a pharmac euticals chapter based on Chapter 5 of the Koera-US Free T rade Agreement include the December 2010 U.S. Business Coalition for TPP letter to USTR (http://bit.ly/i8Eh9L); the March 11, 2009 Comments to USTR submitted by PhRMA (http://bit.ly/ed89sS).

Documents

NLARx Resolution - January 21, 2011