Letters: House should pass ‘Share the Savings’ bill

Indiana lawmakers have found a solution to lower prescription drug costs: Take rebate profits that traditionally are kept by insurers and middlemen and pass the savings directly to Hoosier patients.

Currently, prescription drug manufacturers refund on average 48% of a medicine’s price as a rebate. However, these savings are kept by insurers and pharmacy benefit managers, making the cost of medications to patients often much higher than the cost to their insurance. In fact, Hoosiers could be paying nearly twice what the insurer pays for their medications.

Senate Bill 8, or the “Share the Savings” bill, would provide relief to hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers, ensuring their life-saving medications are more affordable by passing through negotiated rebates to plan participants at the point of sale. Many Hoosiers could save $1,000 or more annually with minimal effect on the overall cost of premiums.

Small employers who purchase state-regulated drug insurance for their employees stand to gain from this legislation as well. The bill would establish greater transparency and require all prescription drug discounts benefit the employer and their employees.

Insurance companies falsely claim they need these rebates to keep premiums down. But a 2022 Milliman analysis reported the impact of passing rebates to patients would be less than a 1% increase in premiums. In the current system, the sick are subsidizing the healthy. Why should the insurance company profit off my drug purchase, especially during the deductible period?

It’s time for Hoosiers to have access to the medical treatments they desperately need without being forced to ration their prescriptions or worry about being able to afford them. As a person living with Type 1 diabetes, I am all too familiar with these stories.

The Indiana Senate voted 42-5 for this legislation last month. On behalf of Hoosiers living with chronic illness and in alliance with fellow leading patient and employer advocacy groups, we call on the House to vote yes on SB 8. Those interested in joining our mission can share their story at ShareTheSavingsIN.com.

—George Huntley, CEO

Diabetes Leadership Council