Make Mom proud: Lower drug prices, Big Pharma.
Welcome to the Week in Review.
- America Needs H.R. 3
- This week, P4ADNow founder David Mitchell delivered testimony to a House Education and Labor subcommittee, urging members of Congress to support H.R. 3 and explaining that the legislation would restore balance to our drug pricing system to ensure innovation and affordability. Patient advocate Therese Ball also shared her story in testimony before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, calling on Congress to allow Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices on behalf of patients like her. “I had a front-row seat to the horrifying reality of our drug pricing system,” Therese told the subcommittee. “Drugs don’t work if people can’t afford them.” — (Cox Media Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group)
2. Top Of The List
- Congressional leadership is planning to take on the “most powerful lobbying group in Washington” and pass legislation to reduce prescription drug prices this year — and the political environment in D.C. means they might have a real chance of getting it done. The vast majority of Americans agree passing such legislation should be a priority for Congress. It’s time to relieve the burden of high drug prices for all Americans. — (HuffPost)
3. Pharma Showers Congress In Cash
- In a signal that Big Pharma knows change is on the horizon, the industry is doing everything it can to fight against lower drug prices, pouring a record $92 million in the first quarter of 2021 into lobbying. Big Pharma is continuing its spending trend in the second quarter — just this week, the industry launched a $4 million dark money campaign loaded with lies to attack H.R. 3. Patients are continuing to make their voices heard to remind legislators to stand up for millions of Americans being crushed at the pharmacy counter. — (FiercePharma)
4. Advance The Affordability Board
- On Friday, the Colorado Senate passed a bill that would establish a prescription drug affordability board with the power to set upper payment limits. The measure is extremely popular, with polls showing that 3 in 4Colorado voters support the creation of a board to rein in drug prices. Now, the Colorado House must take on the mantle and move quickly to advance the bill and protect patients across the state. — (KUSA)
5. “Something Has To Change”
- In an op-ed, Maine patient advocate Sabrina Burbeck describes her family’s experiences with unaffordable drug prices, including the high price of her son’s Humalog insulin. She calls on the Maine legislature to pass a package of drug pricing bills that would make medications more affordable and hold drug companies accountable. “No mother should have to worry if the life of her bright, loving, and curious child will be cut short because the price of their medication spikes overnight or they simply can’t afford it one month,” Sabrina writes. — (Portland Press Herald)