Welcome to the Week in Review.
CMS Guidance On 2nd Round Of Medicare Negotiation
The next round of the Medicare drug price negotiations has been designed to be more patient-centered, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The next 15 drugs selected for negotiation will be released by February 1, 2025, with negotiated prices taking effect in 2027. Key elements of the new guidance include:
- Up to 15 roundtable events, as well as one town hall meeting, with patients on Medicare who use one of the 15 drugs selected.
- Revision of the negotiation timeline to allow for more back-and-forth between CMS and drug companies.
- A CMS review of drug company data and alternative treatments when determining price.
- A new system to help pharmacies and drug companies share pricing information easily.
- Drug companies will be required to follow specific guidelines to make negotiated prices available to eligible patients and pharmacies.
Last year, P4AD patient advocates participated in CMS listening sessions to share their experiences with high drug prices. Their testimonies were a crucial counterweight to pharma representatives who infiltrated the sessions with industry talking points. Along with other stakeholders, P4AD submitted comments on draft guidance for the inaugural round of Medicare negotiation, contributing to the chorus of patient voices that influenced these positive changes. We applaud CMS for including patient perspectives in this critical process and ensuring that the program truly serves the needs of those who are most harmed by high drug prices. — (CMS, Fierce Healthcare)
Medicinas Vitales, No Lujos
The high cost of prescription drugs for Latino communities takes center stage in a new P4AD ad campaign developed by Espacio, a creative collective out of El Tiempo Latino. The campaign, entirely in Spanish, is titled “Medicinas Vitales, No Lujos,” (Essential Medicines, Not Luxuries) and underscores the urgent need for reforms to lower the price of critical medicines, such as inhalers and chemotherapy drugs, used to treat chronic illnesses that disproportionately affect Latinos. The ads also draw attention to lawsuits from the pharmaceutical industry and its allies aiming to undermine the historic Medicare negotiation program. Our recent report highlighted that Latinos are more likely to require prescription medications for chronic illnesses — such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer — and as a result of high drug prices set by pharma, 42 percent of Latinos report not taking their medications as prescribed due to cost. These shocking disparities are the catalyst behind the ad campaign to mobilize Latino communities to share their experiences with high drug prices and demand reforms to ensure patients can access life-saving treatments at affordable prices. The campaign includes a series of videos and digital print ads. — (El Tiempo Latino, P4AD, El Tiempo Latino)
Big Pharma CEOs Rake In Cash
Big Pharma executives continue to line their pockets as one in three Americans report difficulty affording their medicines. According to a new STAT News analysis, in 2023, health care industry CEOs averaged $11 million in annual compensation, with the median pay hitting $4.1 million – a staggering 51 times the median American household income. Topping the list, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel, whose company amassed its huge fortune from taxpayer-invested COVID-19 vaccines, pocketed a whopping $305 million last year, which included salary, bonuses, vested stock, and other perks. And ranking among the top ten highest-paid industry executives, Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks took home an executive pay package of $73.9 million. These outrageous executive payouts are undoubtedly boosted by taxpayers who fund early development of blockbuster drugs. It’s a vicious cycle: taxpayers fund early drug development, then American patients pay inflated prices for years, all the while Big Pharma executives rake in millions of dollars in compensation. — (KFF, STAT)
ICYMI
In a new video, P4AD’s Merith Basey illustrates how Big Pharma games the patent system to block competition and keep prices high, and how we can curb these abuses and lower drug costs. Watch here.
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