Kentucky House votes to tax opioids to close budget gap
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/kentucky-house-votes-tax-opioids-close-budget-gap-53447557
For six years, a pharmaceutical distributor sent more than 50 million doses of prescription opioids to five eastern Kentucky counties, enough for every person there to have 417 pills each.
Kentucky’s attorney general has sued that company and others like it. Thursday, state lawmakers voted to tax them.
In a state with the fifth highest drug overdose death rate in the country, Kentucky’s Republican-controlled House of Representatives approved a tax on prescription opioids Thursday. If approved by the state Senate, Kentucky could become the first state in the country to tax the addictive prescription painkillers that have spurred a wave of addiction across the country.
Lawmakers say the goal is to reduce the number of opioids available in Kentucky. But they won’t use the money from the tax specifically for drug treatment, instead using it to fund public education and other services.
“These pills are profiting the big pharmaceutical drug companies billions and billions and billions of dollars a year. You know how much our state budget gets? Zero,” Democratic Rep. James Kay said.
As the opioid epidemic rages across the country, state and local governments have filed hundreds of lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies and distributors to recoup some of the costs to their health care systems.
Kentucky’s proposal is a step in the other direction, using taxes to fill sparse state coffers while discouraging aggressive prescription of the drugs.
“I think it could help reduce aggressive prescribing,” said Dr. Andrew Kolodny, director of opioid policy research at Brandeis University and an expert advising the court in lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies. “Right now it is too cheap and easy to give a patient a narcotic when they have a pain problem.“
Kentucky is one of at least 13 states with pending legislation to tax opioids, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. None of those proposals have been enacted.
The Kentucky proposal would tax each dose of opioids 25 cents.
State officials say it would generate about $70 million per year. In Minnesota, Gov. Mark Dayton has proposed a “penny a pill” tax on narcotic medications to raise about $20 million to pay for drug treatment programs.
Kentucky’s opioid tax revenue would not be set aside for drug treatment, instead going to fill a budget gap caused by the state’s struggling pension system.
“I think that’s a mistake,” Kolodny said. “States (need) to be investing and building out a treatment system that doesn’t really exist yet. This is a very sensible place to get that money.”
Some Kentucky lawmakers complained that the opioid tax, coupled with an accompanying 50-cent tax hike on cigarettes, disproportionately affects poor people.
But the proposal gives Kentucky’s attorney general authority to prosecute drug companies that pass the tax along to their customers.
That might not be legal, according to Nick McGee, spokesman for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. He said that idea, plus the tax itself, have “some serious legal and policy questions.”
“Taxing prescribed medicines that people legitimately rely on to raise revenue for a budget shortfall is a pretty problematic precedent,” McGee said.
It’s unclear how the proposal will fair in the state Senate, a smaller legislative body that is dominated by Republicans. Senate President Robert Stivers said it would be “difficult” to pass any tax increase without a comprehensive reform of the tax code.
Republican Gov. Matt Bevin told WSON radio he would “reserve my thoughts” on the opioid tax. But later in the interview, he indicated he would not favor raising taxes just to balance the state budget.
“They are trying to put certain monies back in certain areas based on certain political pressure, when I think we need to have a collective effort in Kentucky,” Bevin said.
Filed under: General Problems
Its appalling they want to TAX a medically necessary script! As if the reduction in scripts I’ve encountered in the past year isn’t damaging enough!!
The amount of extra co pays I have to pay out each month instead of twice a year! The fact that I ha e to see a “specialist” now so my co pay has tripled, each month!!
The fact that my health insurance doesn’t even lay for all the meds I need for the month as they decided how much or how many I can now have instead of my dr- after being on the same meds for over 12 yrs and doing very well I might add.
The amount of fuel I burn up each month going to the “specialist” since I can’t see my primary any longer who is right up the street from me.
The amount of hours lost at work as month having to travel to my new specialist to treat me and pickup my monthly script.
Yes, I know, I am fortunate to have a prescribing physician, and I am very grateful for this!! And he’s great I may add!!
But to tax each pill?? Come on!!!!!!
There’s so many other things they could do!!!
Need to add this to your stories as you contact your local and national media resources!!
Let me guess – Suboxone and other opioid formulas to “curb cravings,” along with methadone, when used to treat addiction, are exempt. This is pure discrimination. Anytime costs are increased at a business, they are passed on to the customer. Again, discrimination. Oh, also, can that fame-whore of a “doctor” ever shut up? One day, these morons will need some relief from pain. I wish I could be there when it happens.
You are correct about the fame whore, I used to only want to puke when I saw his picture but now even seeing his name in print is all it takes. And you are probably right about the addiction drugs being tax exempt, I just have to say that it seems like somehow all these laws should be not only a violation of equal protection but also the laws of commerce. On a more personal level I feel like the torture and inhumane treatment of innocent human beings by their own government is a violation of the Nuremburg Code. I don’t have an answer or an avenue to assert my case so I really don’t know, I’m in pain 24/7 and at times have wanted to give up but yet I resist out of contempt for the perpetraters of this fraud.
I received an email today in response to the one I forwarded about the torture of the woman-who after surgery into her skull was given a two day supply of opiate medication, [one was hydrocodone which wasn’t beneficial to her]. She had to go to the ER due to obvious horrific pain, and the small quantity of medication given after a surgery of that magnitude. The ER gave her another ineffective amount and said to follow-up with pain mgt, but pain mgt in her state doesn’t deal with post operation patients. The picture of her shaved head and all of the stitches made me sick and outraged. I forwarded this post to everyone I could think of. The email sent back to me was even more chilling than the former. It was an article from Politico, [I believe from today, March 2nd], with-what looked like a video picture of Trump and his response to the opiate “epidemic” saying that the DEATH PENALTY is the answer to the opiate crises. By putting to death anyone selling opiates, [using other countries as examples], that-that will solve the problem. Steve, did you read this article ? I will forward it to you once I find your email address. This Politico article incurred about 300 responses, of the 20 or so I read, not one person mentioned ANYTHING about chronic-illness, what defines an “opiate-dealer”…every comment was about doctors and pharma companies, NOTHING about chronic-pain, diseases, surgeries….I went to post but didn’t have a Face-Book account, and am disgusted with all of the intrusive questions including use of “personal info required, so didn’t bother.