PhRMA advocates state subsidies for low-income patients and a Medicare drug benefit. Maine Gov. Angus King said he was disappointed in the lawsuit. Physicians split The Maine law gives the state authority to negotiate discounts with pharmaceutical companies through a drug purchasing pool for residents who lack prescription drug coverage. If that price level is not reached for any specific drug by July 2003, the state can exact a retail price reduction. In an Aug. 2 letter to drugmakers, Maine authorities warned that if a company refuses to negotiate drug discounts with the state, the state will restrict Maine doctors' Medicaid prescriptions for that company's products.
Physician opinion is split on the law.
The Maine Medical Assn. voted to oppose the price controls part of the legislation before it was passed because it objected to price controls, but it supported negotiations. Since then, the association's own polls have found that four out of five Maine doctors support the law. Meanwhile, state Sen. Chellie Pingree, a principal author of the law, received many words of support from physicians during an AMA-organized state medical societies meeting in Oregon, held just after PhRMA's lawsuit was filed. The marketing strategies of this industry do absolutely nothing for the practice of medicine. But Paul Shanor, executive director of the Medical Assn. of Georgia, warned that price controls are an easy political solution but could harm drug research and development.