SAINT PAUL, MN — A Minnesotan hurt by skyrocketing drug prices will share his story at the state house today as he testifies before the House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Division Committee in support of HF 3228, a bill that would allow the state to investigate and address excessive drug costs.
Travis Paulson lives with type 1 diabetes and will explain to the committee how the rising price of insulin forced him to ration his medication, severely impacting his health. Paulson knows he is not alone and is testifying to encourage the legislature to take action on behalf of all Minnesota patients suffering under the crushing cost of insulin and other prescription drugs.
“By the time I was 30… my insulin cost $300 a vial; for me, that was $1,500 a month to survive… My health is what ultimately paid the price… years of rationing insulin has caused long-term complications that never would have occurred if I had access to affordable insulin,” Paulson will testify. “…We cannot allow Big Pharma to get away with pricing drugs out of reach for our families. I strongly urge everyone in this room to support HF 3228.”
To help patients across Minnesota, Paulson will ask lawmakers to support HF 3228, the Prescription Drug Affordability Act. The bill would:
Paulson will testify at 9:45 AM CT today before the House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Division Committee.
Slow news week. ?
1. Debunked
2. Shareholders before R&D
3. We want our money back, Mallinckrodt
4. Guilty!
5. Attorneys take on drug prices
Leaping to lower drug prices like.
WASHINGTON, DC — Georgia Patient Advocates visited their members of Congress this week to share their experiences with high drug prices and urge their elected officials to support bipartisan legislation that would provide relief from skyrocketing drug prices. Nearly one in three Americans report not taking their prescription drugs due to costs. This is why the patient advocates asked Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue to stand with patients and President Trump in support of the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act (S. 2543). The bill would stop drug company price gouging and cap out-of-pocket costs for seniors.
“Georgia’s senators have a real opportunity to stand up for patients and lower drug prices,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “Their support for one of the President’s top priorities would make a difference for thousands of Georgia residents and millions of Americans struggling with unrestrained prescription drug price hikes.”
Patricia McKenzie, 65, Atlanta, diabetes: “I’ve paid more than $1,300 per month for my insulin and diabetes supplies. It has meant I have to cut back on things I love to do and that I have trouble affording the healthy food I need to help manage my diabetes.”
Donna Renfroe, 58, Atlanta, acid reflux and high cholesterol: “I am a patient who will continue to face the life-altering symptoms of my conditions, and I wish I could afford the medicines that made my quality of life so much better.”
Maria Sanchez, 61, Atlanta, diabetes: “In order to be able to pay for all of my medication I often skip out on buying my diabetic strips. I only check my blood sugar in the morning, which can be very dangerous to my health.”
Scarlett Woodard, 57, Albany, multiple sclerosis: “If I were able to afford Lyrica, I would enjoy the taste of food and be able to smile again.”
Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is a bipartisan 501(c)(4) national patient organization focused exclusively on policies to lower drug prices. To maintain its independence, the group does not accept donations from organizations that profit from the development and distribution of prescription drugs.
Earlier this week, the organization announced a multi-million dollar campaign calling on the Senate to stand with patients and the President to pass the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act (S. 2543). As part of the campaign set to run until late May, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now will release TV, radio, and digital advertisements nationally and in key states that demonstrate the toll high prescription drug prices are taking on everyday Americans.
WASHINGTON, DC — A new campaign by Patients For Affordable Drugs Now calls on Senators to support one of President Trump’s top priorities by passing legislation to lower prescription drug prices. The multi-million dollar campaign, launched today, urges Senators to stand with patients and the President in support of the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act (S. 2543) — a bill that would stop drug company price gouging and lower costs for seniors.
“Americans of every political stripe agree that drug prices have got to come down,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “Patients are done with Big Pharma’s lies and outsized influence in Congress, and they’re ready to vote on the issue come November.”
The campaign is launching with two national TV ads featuring patients hurt by rising drug prices. Watch the videos, “Gail,” and “Jackie,” and read the transcripts below.
As part of the campaign set to run until late May, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now will also release radio and digital advertisements nationally and in key states that demonstrate the toll high prescription drug prices are taking on everyday Americans. In addition, the campaign will commission polling, fly patients to Washington, and offer patients a suite of tools to help them contact their elected officials and demand action to lower drug prices.
Starting today, P4ADNow will thank Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), the most recent Senator to endorse the Grassley-Wyden bill.
TV AD TRANSCRIPTS
“Jackie”
This is a four week supply of my chemotherapy —
It’s 20 pills, and it’s $20,000 every single month.
You know it’s hard enough thinking that I’m not going to live that long and to leave my husband alone.
But to leave him bankrupt? It’s devastating to me.
Millions of people like me are struggling — and drug prices just keep going up and up.
But now there are bipartisan proposals in Congress that would actually bring those prices down.
Mr. President, Congress, it’s time to make history.
The time is now.
“Gail”
My insulin used to cost $26 a vial.
Today, drug companies charge up to $350 a vial.
This is the same insulin formula I’ve been using for almost 30 years.
Regular middle class people like me — we need help.
Without Congressional intervention, many of us are struggling.
Many are dying.
Just because we can’t afford insulin.
Mr. President and Congress, we are counting on you.
BACKGROUND
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1. Patients Take a Stand
2. ISO Insulin
3. How PhRMA Lost its Mojo
4. Time to Crack Down
5. The Harder They Fall
FORT WORTH, TX — Texas patients will join Senator John Cornyn at his roundtable today to share their stories about the high cost of their prescription drugs and to support the Senator in continuing to push for passage of his bipartisan Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act. The legislation was introduced by Senator Cornyn and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and aims to curb tactics drug companies use to game the patent system and block generic competition.
Below view the event details, hear from patients who will attend, and read more about the bill.
DETAILS
When: 1:20 PM, Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Where: Northside Community Health Center, Second Floor
2332 Beverly Hills Drive
Fort Worth, TX 76114
PATIENT PERSPECTIVE
Emily Grant, Dallas, cystic fibrosis: “I once had to pay $1,000 up front for a necessary inhaled antibiotic, Colistin. $1,000 is an outrageous cost, and I know that if something happens to my coverage, I could suddenly be faced with this cost again.”
Savanna Braun, The Woodlands, asthma, psoriatic arthritis, and other chronic conditions: “I will have to make major life decisions because of the cost of my drugs. These decisions range from which jobs I seek to whether or not I can afford certain medications or new therapies.”
Randall and Emma Barker, Wichita Falls, father and daughter with type 1 diabetes: “Both my daughter, Emma, and I live with type 1 diabetes. We have had to make real sacrifices to be able to afford the insulin we need to live.”
BACKGROUND
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WASHINGTON, DC — Patients For Affordable Drugs Now launched a new advertising campaign today thanking Senator Martha McSally for supporting the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act, a bill that would stop drug company price gouging and lower costs for seniors. Drug pricing is top-of-mind for 2020 voters — nearly nine in 10 want Congress to prioritize lowering the prices of medications, polling shows.
Today’s campaign encourages Arizona patients to reach out to McSally’s office directly and thank her for standing with constituents — not Big Pharma.
“Senator McSally listened to her constituents who are calling out for relief from Big Pharma’s unrestrained price hikes,” said Ben Wakana, Executive Director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “We want her to know how much patients appreciate her support and work to advance bipartisan reform that would help fix our broken system.”
Relief from high drug prices can’t arrive soon enough for patients like Luz Lopez who travelled from Arizona to Washington, DC to share her story with Senator McSally and advocate for reforms that would lower drug prices.
“I don’t know from one year to the next if I’ll be able to afford the prescriptions I need to treat multiple chronic conditions, including depression and anxiety,” Lopez said. “It is so meaningful to me that Senator McSally listened and stood up for me. I hope more members of Congress follow her lead.”
BACKGROUND
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