Senate President Spilka Statement on Health Care Conference Reports

“I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the conference committee—and especially Senate Chair Cindy Friedman—for finalizing two important health care bills before the end of this session. The Senate has championed lowering the cost of necessary medications for years, and I am proud to say that the conference report on prescription drugs will save thousands of dollars for residents, especially those living with chronic conditions. Additionally, the entry of private equity into the health care space has had profound and lasting effects on providers’ ability to deliver care, and we are still trying to understand its full impact. While it is vital that we continue to study those effects and take action in the future to further mitigate them, the market oversight bill begins to address the damaging role of private equity and put important initial guardrails in place to attempt to prevent another crisis like the one faced by Steward.”

**The joint statement from the conference committee is attached.**