Elmhurst Rep Says Why She Avoided Yes-Or-No Vote

ELMHURST, IL — Since late last year, Patch has been trying to get an answer about why state Rep. Deanne Mazzochi did not vote yes or no on a proposal to cap insulin prices. She voted present in November, even after she took a vocal stand against the measure.

If Mazzochi, R-Elmhurst, had voted no, she would have been in a small minority. The bill sailed through the House 100-13 and the Senate 43-1. She was the only one who voted present. Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the bill in January.

Mazzochi's 47th House District includes all or parts of Elmhurst, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills and Western Springs, among other towns.

In an interview last week, Mazzochi questioned what good a dissenting vote would have done. And she raised the prospect of negative campaign mailers. She is running against Democrat Jennifer Zordani of Clarendon Hills in the Nov. 3 election.

Mazzochi said she was against a price cap because it would remove pharmaceutical companies' incentive to charge a price lower than the cap. With the politics involved, she said, one firm decided to stay out of the insulin market and that others would likely follow.

Medicare and Medicaid, Mazzochi said, are reimbursing for insulin at or slightly above cost. And because insulin is primarily for older people on Medicare, the disproportionately smaller group of insulin users with private insurance must bear a much bigger share of the costs, she said.

"The private sector shouldn't have to bear the whole burden. Is it really fair for someone in the private sector market that the government pays less?" Mazzochi said.

She cited her experience as an attorney on regulatory lawsuits in the pharmaceutical industry.

"I want to fix the structural problems that lead to overinflated drug prices," she said. "I have lived this industry for 20 years. I see the tricks that get played to get people to overpay for prescription medications. Sometimes it's not the pharmaceutical companies, it's insurance companies."

During the legislative debate, Mazzochi warned the bill would only shift costs in the form of higher deductibles and premiums, according to Capitol News Illinois.

"The reason industry players are neutral on this bill is because they know it's really not going to cut costs, it's going to make a redistribution of costs. It's going to shift them from one player to the other, but the players are still going to get paid," she was quoted as saying.

She was right about the neutrality. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which represents Big Pharma, listed itself as neutral.

In last week's interview, Mazzochi said, "I don't like it when Democrats vote for bills that don't do anything."

In a July interview, Zordani said Mazzochi's law firm is tied to pharmaceutical companies and that she is tilted toward them in the Legislature. She cited Mazzochi's present vote on the insulin issue.

Mazzochi is a founding partner of Chicago-based Rakoczy Molino Mazzochi Siwik LLP.