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A bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate this week aims to address the growing issue of drug shortages.
A bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate this week aims to address the growing issue of drug shortages.
Introduced by Senators Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Tina Smith, D-Minnesota, the Mitigating Emergency Drug Shortages (MEDS) Act would give the FDA increased authority and expand manufacturing reporting requirements.
The bill was introduced the same day the FDA released the results of a task force, which spent about a year probing the causes of drug shortages as well as proposing some solutions. The report called the pharmaceutical marketplace “broken” and said that manufacturers need financial incentives to produce drugs at risk for shortage.
According to a statement from Collins’ office, the bill would:
The MEDS Act is supported by Premier, the American Hospital Association, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists, and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices.
There were more than 200 shortages in 2018, the organizations said, and “The MEDS Act is a thoughtful, holistic and sustainable approach to eliminating drugs shortages,” said Blair Childs, senior vice president of public affairs of Premier, in a statement.
Collins’ office said drug shortages add $230 million a year to US drug costs and $216 million a year in increased labor costs as healthcare providers scramble to find an alternative source of medication.