Sharon Treat’s Outstanding Contributions to Health Care Reform Recognized by Progressive States Network

Hallowell, Maine, June 18, 2009—Sharon Anglin Treat, Legal Project Director for Prescription Policy Choices (PPC), was honored by Progressive States Network (PSN) for her outstanding contributions to the effort to bring quality affordable health care to all on Wednesday, June 17 in Washington, DC. Treat, a longstanding legislator currently serving in the Maine House of Representatives, has been a key leader in moving policies to reduce prescription drug costs and expand access to lifesaving medications as well as other consumer protections. Treat was recognized for her innovative health care reforms at the state level, including sponsoring prescription drug quality and access laws, such as legislation banning deceptive marketing practices to seniors, establishing an academic detailing program to educate prescribers on best practices, regulating conflicts of interests and rebates negotiated by pharmacy benefit managers, and establishing the MaineRx Plus discount drug program. Most recently, she cosponsored legislation to protect minors from pharmaceutical industry predatory marketing practices, which was passed into law in Maine last month.  

Treat was in the nation’s capital as part of a delegation of state leaders organized by PSN that delivered a letter urging the Obama Administration and Congress to enact comprehensive health care reform within the year. The delegation met with Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and Director of the White House Office for Health Reform Nancy-Ann DeParle, as well as Iowa Senator Tom Harkin and other members of Congress. Expanding access to safe, effective, and affordable prescription drugs and enhancing transparency in pharmaceutical marketing are key aspects of the national debate on health care reform.

In her work on behalf of PPC, a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c) (3) prescription drug educational and public policy organization that she founded in 2005, Treat is engaged in significant legal activity aimed at assisting policy makers with developing legally sound policies to address prescription drug costs, as well as defending those policies if and when they are challenged in the courts. Such legal work includes collaborative efforts to provide research and expertise, and where appropriate, joining with consumer and health advocacy groups to file “Friend of the Court” legal briefs to defend innovative policies aimed at reducing prescription drug costs and increasing access.

Additional activities on behalf of PPC include Treat’s work with state Attorneys General in cases involving regulation of conflicts of interest of pharmacy benefit managers and the scope of patent protections as they affect drug pricing policies. She has spearheaded PPC’s cosponsorship and participation in major conferences on pharmaceutical legal issues with American University’s Washington College of Law.

Treat also serves the Executive Director of the National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices (NLARx), a nonpartisan organization of state legislators working jointly across state lines to reduce prescription drug prices and expand access. Prior to joining NLARx, Treat served for seven terms in the Maine Legislature, including two as Senate Majority Leader, and, since 2006, as a member of the Maine House of Representatives. She currently serves on the Joint Standing Committee on Insurance and Financial Services. She has an AB degree from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and a law degree with honors from Georgetown University Law Center.

PPC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c) (3) educational and public policy organization which provides objective research, information, and on-the-ground expertise on prescription drug policy. PPC’s research and policy focus is evaluating alternative policies and programs that effectively reduce prescription drug prices and increase access to medications.