Bill > H3654

This bill aims to hold manufacturers of certain opioid and benzodiazepine drugs accountable for the opioid crisis. The key provisions are: 1. The Health Policy Commission can require manufacturers that have increased prices on "covered drugs" (certain opioid and benzodiazepine products) to submit a performance improvement plan to address the underlying reasons for the price increases. Manufacturers that fail to comply can face civil penalties of up to $500,000. 2. The bill establishes a new assessment, called the "drug stewardship payment," on manufacturers of covered drugs. The assessment is based on the manufacturer's share of total gross receipts for covered drugs sold in Massachusetts, up to 40% of their gross receipts. The funds collected will be deposited into the Substance Abuse Services Fund to support prevention, intervention, recovery, and treatment programs. 3. The Commissioner of Revenue must provide a confidential list of manufacturers that have increased prices on covered drugs to the Health Policy Commission, which can then pursue further action against those manufacturers. The overall goal is to hold opioid and benzodiazepine manufacturers accountable for their role in the opioid crisis and use the funds generated from the assessment to support addiction treatment and recovery services in Massachusetts.