A patient speaks in Connecticut. Big Pharma helps itself to the spoils of a tax windfall. And one drug company CEO makes a strong play to be the next Martin Shkreli.
1. A cancer patient speaks
2. Profits over patients
3. Ohio takes aim at PBMs
4. For cancer patients, less bang for their buck
5. Gouger Alert! Vertex CEO took home $78.5 million in 2017
The week in drug pricing has been marked with dormant dashboards, broken promises and bloated CEO salaries.
So, let’s get to it.
1. Dormant drug dashboards
2. “We were forced to file for bankruptcy to afford my insulin.”
3. Piles of gold skimmed off the backs of the sick and dying.
4. Kickback schemes at Novartis?
5. The Vertex CEO said a few things he might regret.
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone. See you next week!
Shkreli begs for minimum security. Pharma lobbies Congress to sweeten the donut hole. And the Catholic health community gets a call for help.
Welcome to the week in review in drug pricing!
1. How will Shkreli fare in prison? Jury’s out
2. Congress is considering caving to pharma
3. Drugmakers ‘derelict’ if they don’t tackle this issue: Waxman
4. Give patients a seat at the table
5. Heads are snappin’ at health care consolidations
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone. See you next week!
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Big Pharma is lobbying Congress to repeal a rule that requires drug corporations to pay a higher share of prescription costs for people on Medicare. At the same time, patient advocates descended on Washington, D.C., to tell lawmakers not cave to pharma lobbying without supporting the CREATES Act, a bill to lower drug prices.
“If Congress caves to pharma and repeals drug cost protections for Medicare beneficiaries in the donut hole, the least they can do is stop stalling and pass the bipartisan CREATES Act,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now.
According to news reports, lobbyists and lawmakers “are working to relax a law that would force drug makers to pay a higher percentage of costs for Medicare beneficiaries.”
The CREATES Act (S. 974 and H.R. 2212) would stop big drug companies from blocking competition by refusing to allow their brand name drugs to be used in testing needed to get approval for generic competitors. If passed, patients would get access to lower-priced generic drugs faster.
Among the patients visiting lawmakers are:
The pharmaceutical lobby spent $25 million last year and continues to oppose the CREATES Act despite calls from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, FreedomWorks, and the Heritage Foundation to pass the bill.
A new national poll shows that Americans across the political spectrum want Congress to make lower drug prices a top priority, and voters support passage of the CREATES Act by an 83 to 9 margin. According to a survey from the Republican-led research firm GS Strategies, 85 percent of voters nationwide say lowering the cost of prescription drugs should be a leading priority for Congress compared to just 12 percent who consider it a low priority.
Patients For Affordable Drugs Now aims to act as a counterbalance to drug corporation influence and conducts on-the-ground advocacy in support of candidates and policies to curb drug prices. It does not accept funding from any organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs.
###
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Patients For Affordable Drugs Now Campaigns Director Janice Rottenberg issued the following statement after Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed HB 4005 into law today.
“This bill brings much-needed transparency to drug costs in Oregon, and it builds momentum as more states pass legislation to end drug pricing abuses. Today is a good day for Oregon and for Americans demanding action to lower outrageous drug prices.”
Background
###
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland is taking a strong stand on drug prices today with the introduction of SB1023, legislation to establish a drug cost commission and ensure Maryland residents pay fair prices for prescriptions. The legislation is strongly endorsed by Patients For Affordable Drugs NOW, a bipartisan national patient organization focused on policies to lower drug prices. Patients For Affordable Drugs NOW announced plans to educate, activate, and mobilize Maryland patients in support of the bill.
“The Maryland residents we hear from are tired of drug corporations raising prices without regard to the harm to patients and consumers,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and Maryland resident whose drugs cost $450,000 per year and the Founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs NOW. “The legislation introduced today would be a serious step forward toward helping millions of Marylanders by keeping drugs affordable. I urge the legislature to move quickly and enact this critical measure.”
P4ADNOW has collected hundreds of stories from the Appalachians to the Chesapeake Bay. The organization will create online tools that help patients contact elected officials in support of the bill, and it will amplify the voices of Maryland residents struggling under high drug prices to make elected officials see the heavy toll of high-priced drugs.
Among those residents is John Darby, 48, a married father of two with a rare blood cancer. For a decade, he’s relied on a daily injection to manage his illness. Its price is $5,200 per month.
“This is the only medication available at this time that keeps him healthy enough to work, be a father and stay alive,” said Helen Darby, his wife.
The bill would:
A partner bill, HB1194, is expected to be introduced March 6.
Patients For Affordable Drugs NOW does not accept donations from organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs.
###
DENVER — The introduction of HB1260, The Drug Price Transparency Act of 2018, brings Coloradans one step closer to lowering drug prices. The legislation is strongly endorsed by Patients For Affordable Drugs NOW, a bipartisan national patient organization focused on policies to lower drug prices. P4ADNOW announced plans to educate, activate, and mobilize Colorado patients in support of the bill.
The group will create online tools that help patients contact elected officials in support of the bill, and it will amplify the voices of Coloradans struggling under high drug prices to make elected officials see the heavy toll of high-priced drugs.
“No one in Colorado should have to choose between affording a life-saving drug and putting food on the table, but that is exactly what Colorado patients report to us,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient whose drugs cost $450,000 per year and the Founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs NOW. “Colorado patients tell us devastating stories of skipping doses, cutting pills in half, and going into bankruptcy due to the skyrocketing price of prescription drugs. That’s why this bill is so critical.”
Retired nurse Margaret Wright-Mueller is among those Coloradans hurting under skyrocketing drug costs and rooting for the transparency bill.
“I worked in the ICU for 44 years. I took care of patients, especially Medicare patients. They often cried and said they could not afford their meds or needed to cut their food bill,” said Wright-Mueller. “Now, I am struggling in the same ways.”
Wright-Mueller is one of more than 300 Colorado patients who have shared stories with Patients For Affordable Drugs NOW.
HB1260 would shed much-needed light on drug prices by requiring drug corporations to justify price hikes to state officials. If passed, drug corporations won’t be able to blindside Colorado patients with arbitrary price hikes. The transparency bill would:
This move toward transparency can help further discussions over how we can address prices in the long term.
Patients For Affordable Drugs NOW does not accept donations from organizations that profit from the development and distribution of prescription drugs.
###