RICHMOND — Big Pharma is furiously lobbying Washington to protect its profits, but Rep. Abigail Spanberger is fighting for patients as she works to lower drug prices. That’s why today, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now launched a six-figure campaign to thank Rep. Spanberger for her leadership in the fight to lower drug prices.
Watch the ad campaign videos, “Jackie,” and “Gail.”
Under current law, Medicare is prohibited from negotiating directly with drug companies, and as a result the average American pays two to three times more for prescription drugs than citizens in other wealthy countries. Rep. Spanberger supports policies to let Medicare negotiate directly with drug companies. Additionally, Spanberger is a cosponsor of the bipartisan SPIKE Act, which requires drug manufacturers to justify large price increases and high launch prices for drugs.
“Virginians are being crushed by high drug prices, and Rep. Spanberger is fighting back,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “We want to send a message to voters in VA-7: Big Pharma is spreading scare tactics and lies, but Rep. Spanberger is standing up for patients.”
As part of the campaign, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now will release a slew of digital ads that show the toll high prescription drug prices are taking on everyday Americans, offer a suite of tools that encourage Americans to contact their representatives in support of lowering drug prices, and share stories of patients suffering under prescription drug prices on social media.
These ads come on the heels of a campaign in August when Patients For Affordable Drugs Now thanked GOP Senators who supported the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019.
Americans overwhelmingly support action to lower drug prices. Eighty-six percent of Americans — majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents — support allowing Medicare to negotiate. Americans pay twice as much for prescription drugs as other nations, and nearly 1 in 3 adults report not taking their medicines as prescribed due to cost.
The mission of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now (P4ADNow) is public education and advocacy regarding America’s need to curb drug prices. Touted by The Hill as “a leading drug pricing advocacy group,” Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is a bipartisan non-profit organization established under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Service code. As a 501(c)(4), P4ADNow engages in electoral activity and direct advocacy in support of legislation that would lower drug prices.
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