Vermont Law First to Force Drugmakers to Explain Price Increases

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin signed into law a transparency bill that would require certain drugmakers to justify their price increases for specific products.

The legislation requires state healthcare regulators to compile an annual list of the top 15 medicines that have seen the highest price increases, as well as identify drugs for which the wholesale acquisition cost has increased by 50 percent or more over the past five years or by 15 percent over the past 12 months.

The manufacturers of those drugs then must justify the price increases to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office.