I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2013, when I was 16 years old. In 2017, my family went on a new insurance plan and my insulin copay suddenly skyrocketed to $550. At that time, I was 19 and paying my own college tuition. It was amazing, really, that my insulin would cost me more than my tuition that year. I started rationing expired insulin, which landed me in the ER in September 2017.
Hey there all you cool cats and kittens, hope you are staying healthy at home! Welcome to the Week in Review in prescription drug pricing.
1. COVID-19: Follow the Money
- Patients For Affordable Drugs dug into the massive taxpayer contributions toward COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. The findings? The real heroes of COVID-19 aren’t corner office executives, but the doctors and nurses, grocery store workers, and U.S. taxpayers whose tax dollars will drive the discovery of life-saving vaccines and treatments. — (Patients For Affordable Drugs)
2. Victory in Minnesota
- Drug pricing and Insulin-for-All advocates in Minnesota are celebrating a win after the Alec Smith Insulin Affordability Act was officially signed into law. The hard-won reform provides relief to those in urgent need and struggling to afford their insulin. — (Star Tribune)
3. Taxpayers Deserve a Say
- A new NIH-led public-private partnership to accelerate COVID-19 treatments and vaccines is a welcome development — but it fails to address future pricing of those drugs. Since taxpayers are investing extraordinary amounts toward the development of COVID-19 drugs, they deserve a say when the time comes to set a price. — (NIH)
4. Members of Congress Call For Drug Pricing Action
- As the pandemic’s economic fallout continues to devastate Americans financially and COVID-19 treatments and vaccines are under development, members of Congress are calling for action to address skyrocketing drug costs and ensure that COVID-19 drugs are affordable for all Americans. — (Here & Here)
5. States Taking Charge
- States around the country continued to lead the way by passing sweeping drug price reforms ranging from insulin copay caps to PBM crackdowns, all within the last month. Even during a crisis, states are getting the job done. — (STAT)
With promising news on the horizon, we cannot stress this enough – stay home and save lives!
1. Taxpayers deserve a good deal
- In the race to find COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, taxpayers are investing in research to get the job done. Drug corporations shouldn’t be allowed to set prices on products taxpayers helped to research and develop — they must partner with the US government to set fair and affordable prices for everyone. — (Inside Health Policy)
2. Patients make it happen ?
- After patients penned a letter calling on insulin manufacturers to lower the price of insulin during the COVID-19 crisis, Eli Lilly announced they would offer a program that allows people with diabetes to purchase their insulin products for $35 a month. It’s a win for patients, but we still need action to *lower list prices for ALL.* — (CNBC)
3. Drug Pricing Reform NOW
- From Maine to Nebraska, Americans are calling on Congress to take action and lower the cost of prescription drugs by passing the Prescription Drug Pricing Reform Act. — (Bangor Daily News) and (Lincoln Journal Star)
WASHINGTON, DC — Overwhelmingly and across party lines, voters want the Senate to do more to lower the prices of prescription drugs and support passage of the bipartisan Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act. Respondents resoundingly reject Big Pharma arguments that the legislation would result in worse care or that penalties for price increases above inflation are too high.
The survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted by the research firm GS Strategy Group for Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. It found Democratic, Republican, and independent voters are all much more likely to vote for a candidate who supports the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act. More than 4 out of 5 likely voters support the legislation, including 55% who strongly support the bill, and nearly three-fourths of respondents said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supports its passage.
The Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act would rein in price gouging by penalizing corporations that raise their prices faster than inflation and cap out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs for people on Medicare.
Click here to read more results. Highlights of the survey include:
- 83% of voters support the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act: 87% of Democrats support the bill and Republicans support it by an 84%-to-7% margin.
- GOP voters want the Senate to lower drug prices: More than 85% of voters nationwide, including 81% of Republicans, want the United States Senate to take more action to lower the cost of prescription drugs.
- Voters reject pharma’s arguments in opposition to the bill. Under the bill, drug companies would have to pay a penalty if they raise prices faster than inflation.
- 83% of voters reject Big Pharma’s claim that inflation penalties are too harsh.
- 8 in 10 voters reject pharma’s scare tactics that penalizing drug corporations for hiking prices beyond the rate of inflation will impact patient care. In fact, 82% of voters believe the bill will have no impact or result in better care.
- Nearly three-fourths of all voters said they would be more likely to support a candidate for Senate if they supported the bill, indicating prescription drug pricing will be an issue voters pay attention to when they cast their ballots.
“Republican, Democratic, and independent voters across the country are demanding that Congress act to lower drug prices and overwhelmingly support the bipartisan Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and Medicare beneficiary, and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “Voters reject Big Pharma propaganda and Americans want their Senators to side with them to lower prices and reduce out-of-pocket costs. They’ll vote on the issue come November.”
GS Strategy Group conducted the research March 7-11, 2020 among 1,000 likely voters nationwide. The margin of error is +/- 3.1% at the 95% confidence level.
Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is an independent, bipartisan patient organization focused on policies to lower drug prices. P4ADNow does not accept funding from any organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs.
Wash your hands and catch up on drug pricing news!
1. Done being silent
- Millennials with lifelong chronic illnesses need never-ending care and face alarmingly high and rising health care costs. That’s why members of this generation are speaking up to advocate for change across health care, including lowering drug prices. — (Teen Vogue)
2. Too much pain to smile
- Scarlett Woodard, of Georgia, can’t afford the pricey drug Lyrica to combat her chronic pain, and as a result, it hurts too much for her to smile. That’s why Woodard pushed back against the rigged system in a letter to her local paper, encouraging Congress to pass the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act. — (Albany Herald)
3. Address insulin list prices
- The Trump Administration proposed a program that aims to lower out-of-pocket costs for some Medicare beneficiaries. It’s not enough; we must address the skyrocketing list prices of insulin, the headwaters of the drug pricing crisis. — (The New York Times)
4. There are solutions
- P4AD Founder David Mitchell talks with podcast host and oncologist Chadi Nabhan. The two discuss solutions to lower drug prices, from reforming the U.S. patent system to pricing new gene therapies fairly. — (Outspoken Oncology)
5. Yes, it can be done
- Joe Grogan, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, penned an op-ed this week urging Congress to come together to pass drug pricing reform legislation. Yet again the administration endorsed thePrescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act, which would rein in drug price hikes and help seniors afford vital medications. Let’s get it done! — (WSJ)
