WEST ORANGE, NJ (July 10, 2023) – AARP New Jersey Associate State Director of Advocacy, Crystal McDonald, provided the following statement:

“On behalf of AARP New Jersey’s 1 million Garden State members and all New Jerseyans, we applaud Governor Phil Murphy, Senator Troy Singleton, and Assemblyman John McKeon for their leadership in standing up to big drug companies and enacting S1614/A2839 and S1615/A2840, legislation to address the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs. These newly enacted laws work together to address affordability of insulin, asthma inhalers and epi-pens for many New Jerseyans and establish a Drug Affordability Council to achieve affordable medications for all New Jerseyans.

“High prescription drug prices hit older Americans particularly hard. According to a recent Fairleigh Dickinson poll of 50+ voters, commissioned by AARP, more than two out of three New Jersey voters 50-plus are concerned they won’t be able to afford the prescriptions they need in the future. Too many Garden State residents are forced to choose between life-saving medications and paying rent, buying food, and meeting other critical needs. Americans are sick and tired of paying the highest prices in the world for their prescription drugs. It's outrageous to have to pay three times what people in other countries pay for the same medicine. It is wrong that even during the pandemic and financial crisis, drug companies increased the prices of over 1,000 drugs in 2020, including those for chronic conditions that people over age 50 depend on.

“S1615/A2840, will give our state the data and the tools to ensure more transparency across the pharmaceutical supply chain, evaluation of emerging trends in prescription drug prices, and actionable recommendations to achieve more affordable prescription drugs for New Jerseyans. Until today, no state entity was responsible for understanding drug prices, or whether the prices New Jerseyans pay are justified and reasonable, and no entity was responsible for working with that data in order to make meaningful recommendations on how to make prescription medicines affordable. S1615/A2840 will fix this problem on behalf of all New Jerseyans.

“This newly enacted legislation establishes a NJ Drug Affordability Council charged with making actionable recommendations to the Legislature and Governor that seek to advance the goal of more affordable and accessible prescription drugs for New Jersey residents, establishes data reporting requirements for the prescription drug supply chain and requires the Division of Consumer Affairs to issue an annual report on emerging trends in prescription drug pricing.

“The enactment of S1614/A2839, will set maximum out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $35 per month, epi-pens at $25, and inhalers at $50. This is an important step toward ensuring these life-saving medications are more affordable to the New Jerseyans who depend on them, including the more than 622,000 New Jerseyans who have diabetes.

“AARP New Jersey will never stop fighting to make prescription medications more affordable. Together, these newly enacted laws are a major step forward in beginning to address the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs for all New Jerseyans that are unaffordable for too many. We thank Governor Murphy, Senator Singleton, Senator Vitale and Assemblyman McKeon for their steadfast leadership and dedication to achieving affordable medications for all New Jerseyans.”

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