A bipartisan group of North Carolina lawmakers supports a bill that would reduce the cost of medicines made from blood plasma.
Plasma medications treat rare, autoimmune diseases. They're also expensive — running anywhere from $500 to $3,000.
A bill in Congress called the PLASMA Act would require manufacturers to pay more of the cost for patients covered by the Medicare drug program. If enacted into law, the measure will alter a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act that requires drug makers to pay a rebate to Medicare if they raise prices at a rate higher than inflation.
North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis is sponsoring the bill in the Senate, alongside Arizona Democrat Mark Kelly.
“It is critical patients with rare diseases and immunodeficiencies have uninterrupted access to the life-saving plasma-based medicines they need,” Tillis said in a statement. “This commonsense legislation increases access to these innovative medications and ensures they remain affordable for the thousands of Americas who rely on them.”
Several North Carolina House lawmakers, including Republican Richard Hudson and Democrat Don Davis, support a similar measure introduced last year.
Plasma medicines are a major industry in North Carolina. Biopharma company Grifols operates one of the nation's largest plasma processors in Johnston County.
