King Seeking Relief for Maine Mothers Amid Formula Shortage

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) and Senators across New England today urged Abbott Laboratories to provide baby formula relief to state Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) programs and the mothers they serve. In a letter to Abbott CEO Robert Ford, King and his colleagues highlight how the serious formula shortage has impacted families across New England, and call for the expansion of rebates that allow WIC recipients to purchase alternatives to Abbott baby formula. Currently, Abbott is providing New England WIC programs short-term rebates which allow families to purchase non-Abbott competitive formulas, but the company has yet to communicate substantive plans for longer-term solutions or relief for families. Maine has close to seventeen-thousand WIC recipients, three-thousand of whom who rely partially or fully on formula.

"Mothers in our states have been left to scrounge to find formula for their infants, traveling longer and longer distances only to find empty shelves. According to the most recent data, more than 40% of stores in our states are currently out of stock of infant formula. This situation is especially untenable for low-income mothers, who do not have the time or resources to enable them to access this depleted supply. Given that WIC is expressly intended to support low-income families and that this supply crisis is a direct result of contamination at an Abbott facility, Abbott must ensure states have sufficiently flexible WIC contract obligations during this time," the Senators wrote. "In total, nearly 40,000 infants in our states' WIC programs are either partially or fully formula-fed, and our states are restricted to Abbott-only formulas due to these contract obligations."

"With this in mind, we strongly urge Abbott to extend rebates across all infant formulas at least through the duration of this year, without restrictions across products and without unnecessary directives on which products to prefer," continued the Senators. "Similarly, once safety concerns over Abbott infant formulas have been remedied, Abbott should work with states to ensure WIC recipients and families trust in Abbott products before removing rebates for competitive products."

The letter is also signed by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Maggie Hassan (D-NH).

Senator King has worked to ensure families across Maine and the country can access baby formula during the nationwide shortage. He cosponsored the Access to Baby Formula Act which was signed into law last week and will help alleviate the nationwide shortage of baby formula by requiring major formula manufacturers to develop action plans. He has also called on President Joe Biden to swiftly develop a coordinated strategy that can get the life-sustaining product back on shelves as soon as possible

The full letter can be read HERE and below.

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Dear Mr. Ford,

We write to you today on behalf of the mothers in our states who are enrolled in Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). We are requesting immediate, long-term relief from unworkable contract obligations due to ongoing shortages of Abbott Nutritional Products (Abbott) infant formula supply.

As you are aware, the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island jointly contract with Abbott to provide infant formula for each state's WIC program. In total, nearly 40,000 infants in our states' WIC programs are either partially or fully formula-fed, and our states are restricted to Abbott-only formulas due to these contract obligations. In light of recent shortages, Abbott provided our states with rebates to purchase non-Abbott competitive formulas in order to meet demand. However, Abbott has continually provided only short-term extensions of these rebates despite knowing formula shortages would last much longer than the extension given. Similarly, Abbott has not provided rebates equitably across products and placed burdensome directives on state agencies to choose Abbott products where available.

For reference, on February 19, 2022, Abbott communicated to states that the company would provide rebates on competitive formulas outside contracted infant formulas through March 31, 2022. Since then, Abbott has provided short or incomplete extensions, including:

• On March 7, 2022, extending rebates through April 30, 2022;
• On April 8, 2022, extending rebates through May 31, 2022;
• On May 6, 2022, extending a rebate on competitive infant formulas of Similac Advance with a first use by date no later than June 30, 2022, and a rebate on competitive infant formulas of all other Similac contracted formulas with a first use by date no later than July 31, 2022, and;
• On May 16, 2022, extending rebates on all formulas through August 31, 2022, but with the directive to educate families to choose Abbott contract products first, if available at the retailer.

Mothers in our states have been left to scrounge to find formula for their infants, traveling longer and longer distances only to find empty shelves. According to the most recent data, more than 40% of stores in our states are currently out of stock of infant formula. This situation is especially untenable for low-income mothers, who do not have the time or resources to enable them to access this depleted supply. Given that WIC is expressly intended to support low-income families and that this supply crisis is a direct result of contamination at an Abbott facility, Abbott must ensure states have sufficiently flexible WIC contract obligations during this time.

According to current estimates, it will be at least several weeks before Abbott is able to sufficiently supply infant formula to states, and it will take longer for Abbott to adequately supply rural areas with lengthy supply chains lacking large chain stores. It will take longer still to restore consumer faith in the safety of Abbott infant formulas, which will require extensive public messaging and a commitment to safety and transparency in order to regain public trust. All of these actions must happen before states are required to supply Abbott products to families relying on the WIC program to feed their babies.

With this in mind, we strongly urge Abbott to extend rebates across all infant formulas at least through the duration of this year, without restrictions across products and without unnecessary directives on which products to prefer. Similarly, once safety concerns over Abbott infant formulas have been remedied, Abbott should work with states to ensure WIC recipients and families trust in Abbott products before removing rebates for competitive products.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to your timely response.

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