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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 2017)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian Page 2A Saturday, March 4, 2017 Drug makers skeptical about impact of curtailing drug prices By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — Pharmaceutical representatives warned an experi- mental bill to curtail the rising cost of prescription drugs could have unintended consequences on the quality and availability of drugs in Oregon. “I am concerned that it will stifle innovation,” said Sandra Shotwell, CEO of DesignMedix, a drug developer that got its start at Portland State University. The legislation by Rep. Rob Nosse, D-Portland, goes farther than any other law in the nation to regulate prescription prices. The bill would cap patients’ out-of-pocket copayment for prescriptions, require pharmaceu- tical companies to explain steep increases in the cost of a medi- cation and mandate rebates when prices exceed a certain threshold. Oregonians need relief from exorbitant drug prices, but addressing the problem is compli- cated, Nosse said. “The way drugs are developed and the way they are paid for program forward, they say to me: What about government policies? What about things like price caps?” she said. A coalition of 10 health care organizations, such as The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, also have concerns about how the bill could impact research and availability of drugs. “There is no precedent for doing something like this, said Thea Zajac, regional director of governmental affairs for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. “It is just a big unknown. It’s really hard to know how it would play out.” The coalition has offered an alternative proposal in the Senate that would require insurers to offer at least one plan at each level that requires only a set copayment for prescription drugs. Other plans often require patients to pay a percentage of the drug’s cost. “Patients have reported going into debt, forgoing other necessary expenses and, at worst, abandoning their treatment makes solving this problem very hard,” the Portland lawmaker said. The story of one Oregon family, featured in the Portland Business Journal, stands out, Nosse said. When Les Rogers’ 4-year-old daughter was diagnosed with a rare seizure disorder, the family learned the treatment, a drug called Acthar, cost $35,000 per vial. The drug has been available since the 1950s, but when California-based Questcor Pharmaceuticals bought the rights to it, the company raised the price by 85,000 percent, from $45 a vial, Nosse noted. DesignMedix has for the past nine years been building on research initiated at PSU. The start-up company has received state support from the Venture Development Fund and has contracted for clinical trials and capsules with Oregon companies, DesignMedix CEO Shotwell said. The company can only take the product so far before it will need the help of a pharmaceutical company to run expensive and complicated clinical trials. “When I ask investors to help us with the funds to move a Tuition hike of 10.6 percent approved for UO completely,” Zajac wrote in a statement about the bill. “Patients who abandon treatment can end up getting sicker and perhaps even end up back in the hospital, which only triggers more costs to our healthcare system. Simply put, high cost-sharing lowers medication adherence, a problem estimated to cost the US $290 billion annually.” The proposal caps out-of- pocket patient copayments to $100 per drug per month. Phar- maceutical manufacturers would be required to explain to the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services any price increases that exceed $10,000, or 3.5 percent a year. Finally, the bill requires DCBS to calculate the average cost of drugs sold in 35 industrialized nations that are members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Pharmaceutical manufacturers would be required to provide rebates to insurers for the differ- ence between the average cost in those other nations and the actual cost in the United States. EUGENE (AP) — University of Oregon trustees have approved tuition increases for the upcoming school year of 10.6 percent for in-state students and 3 percent for out-of-state students. The Register-Guard reported that Thursday’s 11-1 decision by the trustees means that the cost of attendance for the 2017-18 school year including fees will be $11,931 for residents and $34,611 for nonresidents. The university’s chief financial officer, Jamie Moffitt, said the tuition increase is necessary because the state Legislature did not increase funding for schools next year even though next year’s costs are increasing by $25 million. About 40 students attended the meeting, urging trustees not to approve the increase. Freshman Maria Slade said the increase will be a huge burden for her parents and that her father had told her he would have to work until he reaches age 70 for her to stay at the school. “I hated that. I’m unwilling to watch my parents make more sacrifices to keep me in a school that, as is apparent with this proposed increase, doesn’t seem to care whether I stay or go,” Slade said. Board member Peter Bragdon said lobbying is needed with state lawmakers to ensure better university funding and avoid future tuition increases. Higher education leaders have asked the Oregon Legislature for an additional $100 million more than the $667 million that Gov. Kate Brown has proposed for public universities in her budget. The state faces a $1.6 billion short- fall driven by rising costs in the state’s public pension system and Medicaid, as well as unfunded directives passed by voters in November. About $7 million of the cost increase is required by the Public Employees Retirement System’s demands. Moffitt said that required retirement system payment will increase by a similar figure every two years for the next three or four budget cycles. The Legislature has long been looking for a solution to curb rapidly rising costs associated with the public retirement system. Oregon lawmakers push to protect pot users’ info from U.S. SALEM. (AP) — Oregon lawmakers worried about a nationwide crackdown on legal marijuana under President Donald Trump’s administration are rushing to protect the personal information of pot customers in case federal agents try to seize it. A bipartisan group of lawmakers is taking one of the first direct state actions in response to White House spokesman Sean Spicer last week suggesting a boost in enforcement of federal anti-marijuana laws. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said this week that the Justice Department is reviewing an Obama-era memo giving states flexibility in passing marijuana laws. The committee that crafts Oregon’s pot policies has proposed legislation that requires marijuana businesses to destroy customers’ personal information, such as names, addresses and birth dates, gathered for marketing purposes, within 48 hours. The measure is scheduled for its first hearing Tuesday. It must pass the full Legislature and be signed by the Democratic governor, who’s vowed to fight federal interference in Oregon’s pot market. “I could see where the federal government would come in and try to gather this information from information is to reach out to them — it’s marketing, just like any retailer,” said Donald Morse, executive director of the Oregon Cannabis Business Council. Some lawmakers and marijuana industry experts say the ramifica- tions also could be far-reaching for some recreational users and medical cardholders, who might be federal employees or have permits to carry concealed weapons. “When you go to purchase a firearm, you have to fill out a background check, and there’s a specific question about marijuana use on that form,” said Senate Republican Leader Ted Ferrioli, also a bill sponsor. “I would hate to think that some misguided effort at the federal level to coordinate the client lists that could be confiscated in absence of this (proposal) with the firearms purchase lists.” More than half the country has approved legalized marijuana in some form, mostly for medical purposes. Any federal attempt to crack down on recreational pot could affect medical marijuana users because the markets are increasingly integrated. State pot programs have rolled out without federal interference largely from two key Obama-era directives, both of which are under federal review. AP Photo/Ryan Kang, File In this 2015 file photo employees of Amazon Organics, a marijuana dispensary in Eugene, help customers purchase rec- reational marijuana. businesses that have stockpiled it and retained it in their records,” said Democratic state Sen. Floyd Prozanski, a bill sponsor who is also a prosecutor. “I think we as legislators have a duty to protect our citizens.” Eight states and the District of Columbia have legalized mari- juana for recreational use. Shops that sell the drug are open in four states and are required to check IDs to verify that customers are at least 21. But many in Oregon go further, keeping an internal log of customers’ personal details to promote their product, including special deals and discounts on birthdays. Some dealers even log driver’s license numbers to track each marijuana product a person buys and on which dates, which helps customers buy an item again even if they forget its name. Colorado and Alaska prohibit retaining that private information. It’s also frowned upon, although not illegal, in Washington state. “The reason we keep that Didn’t receive your paper? Call 1-800-522-0255 before noon Tuesday through Friday or before 10 a.m. Saturday for same-day redelivery 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. 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Single copy price: $1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday Copyright © 2017, EO Media Group REGIONAL CITIES Forecast TODAY SUNDAY A rain or snow shower; some sun Showers of rain and snow; chilly 45° 30° 45° 27° MONDAY TUESDAY Afternoon rain and snow showers A few showers; snow chance early Cloudy and breezy PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 43° 32° 53° 43° 56° 43° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 47° 26° 47° 31° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 57° 52° 67° (1994) 32° 32° 7° (1896) PRECIPITATION 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date 0.00" 0.00" 0.10" 3.92" 2.66" 2.61" HERMISTON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH Yesterday Normals Records LOW 58° 54° 67° (1936) 32° 31° 12° (1989) PRECIPITATION 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date 0.00" 0.00" 0.10" 3.46" 1.67" 2.34" SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today First Full Mar 5 Mar 12 6:28 a.m. 5:46 p.m. 10:13 a.m. none Last New Mar 20 52° 41° 58° 42° Seattle 46/35 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 44° 32° Mar 27 Today WEDNESDAY Spokane Wenatchee 41/27 42/26 Tacoma Moses 46/32 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 45/30 40/29 45/34 45/31 47/26 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 45/35 47/33 Lewiston 50/33 Astoria 44/32 45/33 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 45/35 Pendleton 40/26 The Dalles 47/31 45/30 49/28 La Grande Salem 45/31 46/34 Albany Corvallis 45/34 45/34 John Day 43/25 Ontario Eugene Bend 51/30 46/33 47/22 Caldwell Burns 50/36 42/18 Astoria Baker City Bend Brookings Burns Enterprise Eugene Heppner Hermiston John Day Klamath Falls La Grande Meacham Medford Newport North Bend Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Redmond Salem Spokane Ukiah Vancouver Walla Walla Yakima Hi 45 45 47 46 42 40 46 44 47 43 44 45 41 50 44 48 51 51 45 45 50 46 41 42 46 47 47 Lo 33 26 22 36 18 26 33 26 31 25 24 31 27 32 36 37 30 32 30 35 22 34 27 24 34 33 26 W r sh sn r pc c r r r sh r r c r r r sh c r r c r c r r r c Hi 42 39 35 43 31 34 41 40 47 34 34 39 35 43 42 44 42 48 45 42 40 42 35 36 42 46 45 Today Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Lo 37 66 43 41 50 34 40 47 27 66 43 W s pc pc pc pc c r t s pc pc Lo 33 22 20 38 16 19 34 23 26 23 23 26 22 33 34 36 25 31 27 32 23 34 26 21 34 32 26 W sh sf sf r sf sn sh c pc sf sf sn sn c sh sh sf pc sn sh sf sh sf sf sh sf sf Lo 28 66 46 39 49 35 41 48 24 67 43 W pc pc s r pc sn r r c pc pc WINDS Medford 50/32 Klamath Falls 44/24 (in mph) Today Sunday Boardman Pendleton NW 3-6 NW 3-6 WSW 10-20 SW 8-16 UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. REGIONAL FORECAST Coastal Oregon: Cloudy and chilly today with periods of rain. Mostly cloudy tonight with showers. Eastern and Central Oregon: Mostly cloudy with a couple of showers around; snow level as low as 3,000 feet. Western Washington: Occasional rain today and more showers tonight. Snow levels as low as 500 feet at times. Eastern Washington: Clouds and occasional sunshine today; a rain or snow shower near the Idaho border. Cascades: Snow at times, heaviest this afternoon, with new snow accumulations today of 3-6 inches. Northern California: Rain at times today; cooler; snow levels lowering to near 5,000 feet. 0 1 2 1 1 COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Mike Jensen 541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. Sun. 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WORLD CITIES Hi 57 73 58 52 73 39 50 61 52 74 55 Classified & Legal Advertising 1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678 classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com Advertising Director: Marissa Williams 541-278-2669 • addirector@eastoregonian.com Advertising Services: Laura Jensen 541-966-0806 • ljensen@eastoregonian.com Multimedia Consultants: • Terri Briggs 541-278-2678 • tbriggs@eastoregonian.com • Danni Halladay 541-278-2683 • dhalladay@eastoregonian.com • Jeanne Jewett 541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com • Chris McClellan 541-966-0827 • cmcclellan@eastoregonian.com • Stephanie Newsom 541-278-2687 • snewsom@eastoregonian.com • Dayle Stinson 541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com • Audra Workman 541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com Subscriber services: For home delivery, vacation stops or delivery concerns: 1-800-522-0255 — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — Corrections The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818. 0 8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m. 0-2, Low 3-5, Moderate 6-7, High; 8-10, Very High; 11+, Extreme The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num- ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection. Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2017 -10s -0s showers t-storms 0s 10s rain 20s flurries 30s 40s snow ice 50s 60s cold front 70s 80s 90s 100s warm front stationary front 110s high low National Summary: Rain will drench central and southern Texas today, while rain and mountain snow impact the Northwest. Most other areas will be dry and sunny. The Northeast will have one of the coldest days this winter. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 85° in Tamiami, Fla. Low -23° in Brimson, Minn. NATIONAL CITIES Today Albuquerque Atlanta Atlantic City Baltimore Billings Birmingham Boise Boston Charleston, SC Charleston, WV Chicago Cleveland Dallas Denver Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Fargo Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Jacksonville Kansas City Las Vegas Little Rock Los Angeles Hi 68 61 37 40 56 65 51 21 60 41 42 32 63 68 34 75 8 45 82 66 47 67 70 76 68 68 Lo 41 40 12 15 37 42 37 10 36 24 33 18 53 38 23 50 -12 29 70 59 31 46 49 53 45 54 W s s s s pc s c pc s pc sn pc c pc pc s sf pc sh r sn pc s s pc pc Sun. Hi 68 66 40 40 54 66 44 33 65 62 54 50 67 68 46 78 4 50 80 72 60 70 66 67 61 61 Lo 42 50 18 23 28 54 29 19 44 41 48 41 61 36 40 55 -27 40 68 64 48 53 54 43 53 46 Today W pc pc s s c pc sn s s pc c pc sh s pc s pc pc sh r pc pc c pc sh r Louisville Memphis Miami Milwaukee Minneapolis Nashville New Orleans New York City Oklahoma City Omaha Philadelphia Phoenix Portland, ME Providence Raleigh Rapid City Reno Sacramento St. Louis Salt Lake City San Diego San Francisco Seattle Tucson Washington, DC Wichita Hi 58 68 76 38 45 64 68 31 63 66 36 80 17 23 52 62 53 60 68 60 64 60 46 81 42 66 Lo 37 46 66 33 37 39 58 15 49 45 16 56 3 9 28 32 35 44 46 43 56 47 35 53 22 49 W s s pc pc pc s pc s pc s s s pc s s pc c r s pc pc r r s pc s Sun. Hi 66 63 75 51 59 68 73 38 65 66 40 75 30 37 53 67 40 56 64 54 63 55 42 78 43 68 Lo 53 54 66 44 49 53 63 26 53 53 26 50 9 15 31 35 26 38 52 28 52 44 34 45 32 55 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. W pc c pc c pc pc sh s pc pc s pc s s s pc sf r c r sh sh sh pc s c