House of Representatives Poised To Deliver Sweeping Reforms To Lower Drug Prices, Improve Medicare Benefits, Support Innovation
WASHINGTON, DC— Ahead of this week’s vote on H.R. 3, landmark legislation that will overhaul America’s rigged drug pricing system, patients from across the country sent a letter to House leaders expressing support for the bill and urging passage. The Lower Drug Costs Now Act would let the government negotiate lower drug prices for Americans, use the savings from negotiation to add hearing, vision, and dental coverage for Medicare beneficiaries, and support innovation by directing billions of dollars to the National Institutes of Health.
“Americans have been waiting for this reform since powerful drug corporations blocked Medicare from negotiating lower prices nearly two decades ago,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now in a letter signed by 16 other patient advocates from across the country. “This week, the House can rectify that injustice and put our nation on a road to affordable drug prices and better health.”
The letter is signed by patients with cancer, autoimmune conditions, genetic diseases, and other chronic conditions that require expensive medications. They are covered by Medicare, Medicaid, employer plans, and through the individual marketplace, and require drugs ranging in price from $10,000 to $875,000 per year.
Momentum for the bill continues to grow. Since the bill’s introduction in September, more than 106 Members of Congress have cosponsored the bill, and dozens more supported passage in key House committees.
H.R. 3 would:
Let Medicare negotiate lower drug prices and extend lower prices to all Americans with public or private sector insurance.
Cap out-of-pocket spending at $2,000 for Medicare beneficiaries. Currently, seniors can pay more than $15,000 a year for a single prescription drug.
Stop drug company price gouging by requiring corporations to pay Medicare if drug prices increase faster than the rate of inflation.
Add hearing, dental, and vision coverage for Medicare beneficiaries.
Support innovation and new drug development by investing savings from Medicare negotiations into the world-class research being done at the NIH.
The letter to support H.R. 3 follows the launch in October of a multi-million dollar advertising campaign featuring TV, digital, and radio ads to support the passage of H.R. 3, along with drug pricing reforms proposed in the Senate and by the Trump administration. Nine of 10 Americans from both political parties agree one of Congress’ top priorities should be to lower drug prices.
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Dec. 10, 2019
Dear Chairmen Neal, Pallone, and Scott,
We write to express our strong support for H.R. 3 — The Lower Drug Costs Now Act.
As patients with cancer, autoimmune conditions, genetic diseases and other chronic conditions that require expensive medications, we each have a personal stake in this fight. We are covered by Medicare, Medicaid, employer-sponsored insurance, and through the individual marketplace. Our drug prices range from $10,000 to $875,000 per year.
We need this reform. The time for waiting is over.
Our stories demonstrate why 86% of Americans support letting Medicare negotiate directly with drug companies.[1] H.R. 3 heeds this call and takes reforms further by extending lower prices to people who receive drug coverage from private sector insurers as well. H.R. 3 will improve health by ensuring Americans can afford to take drugs as prescribed; it will also improve Medicare beneficiary health by adding dental, vision, and hearing benefits to the program. Importantly, it will support innovation and new drug development by increasing funding for the NIH and FDA.
All of the signers of this letter traveled to Washington D.C. in recent months to meet with our elected officials and demand action to lower drug prices. Today, we urge passage of the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act. If we could make one amendment to the bill, we would request that Congress extend the bill’s provisions to Americans without insurance coverage — who are often faced with the most critical affordability challenges at the pharmacy counter.
Americans have been waiting for this reform since powerful drug corporations blocked Medicare from negotiating lower prices nearly two decades ago. This week, the House can rectify that injustice and put our nation on a road to affordable drug prices and better health.
Signed,
David Mitchell, Bethesda, MD, Multiple Myeloma Robin Bennett, Grand Island, NE, Type 2 Diabetes Marta Deike, Lodi, CA, Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome Tiburon Erickson, Taylorsville, UT, Mother of Type 1 Diabetic Ethan Erickson, Taylorsville, UT, Type 1 Diabetes Robert Fowler, Ridgeville, OH, Multiple Myeloma Rose Hernandez, California City, CA, Asthma Kimberly Ishoy, South Jordan, UT, Type 1 Diabetes Juliana Keeping, Silver Spring, MD, Mother of Cystic Fibrosis son Luz Lopez, Phoenix, AZ, Fibromyalgia Karen Macedon, Sacramento, CA, Type 2 Diabetes DJ Clayton Martin, Jacksonville, FL, Sickle Cell Disease Clayton McCook, Oklahoma City, OK, Father of Type 1 Diabetic Jacquie Persson, Waterloo, IA, Crohn’s Disease Sam Reid, Washington, D.C., Crohn’s Disease Lauren Stanford , Washington, D.C., Type 1 Diabetes Ashley Suder, McMehen, WV, Lupus
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Waiting on PhRMA to announce its plan to lower drug prices like…
1. Dark Money in a Hard Hat
Pharma is hiring former union bosses to defeat drug pricing reforms, even as union members struggle with drug costs. — (The New York Times)
2. Juicing Profits at Patient Expense
Gilead is accused of delaying safer HIV drugs to make piles of cash on older drugs with harmful side effects. — (The Washington Post)
3. Consult the Map
Patients across America are speaking out about increasing drug costs. Read their stories on P4AD’s interactive map. — (P4AD)
Big Pharma’s fear mongering on the threat H.R. 3 poses to innovation is exposed as hyperbole. — (Kaiser Health News)
1. We Could Do This For So Much Less
Letting academic medical centers make CAR-T drugs would save billions. — (STAT Op-Ed)
2. Betrayal
Doctors who were instrumental in developing a groundbreaking heart drug are now decrying its exorbitant price tag. — (Bloomberg)
3. Forced to Buy High
While generic drugs are seeing approvals in record number, these drugs are increasingly experiencing delays when it comes to reaching patients. — (The Wall Street Journal)
4. “Most new drugs aren’t that innovative.”
Big Pharma’s biggest argument for maintaining high prescription prices is full of cracks. — (The Hill)
5. Congress, Please Wake Up
America wants lower drug prices. How many times and in how many ways and with how many polls can we say this???? — (Kaiser Family Foundation)
1. “Why is the price so high?”
In recognition of World Diabetes Day, P4AD released a new report that tells the story of how the insulin pricing crisis came to be and what we must do to fix it. — (P4AD & NBC)
2. Something Must Change
A new study found that 34 million Americans know at least one person who has died after not receiving medical treatment due to cost — including drug prices. — (Gallup)
3. OK, Pharma
In 2018, prices for some of the most widely used drugs increased by more than double the rate of inflation. — (AARP)
4. False Claims Exposed
A new analysis found brand-name drugmakers could lose $1 trillion in lower sales and *still* be the most profitable industry sector ($@%#!?), all while maintaining current research investments.— (West Health)
5. Forced to Ration
In the U.S., patients are far more likely than in other developed nations to ration drugs due to cost. — (The New York Times)
It’s a good week when the government stands up to Big Pharma patent predators.
1. PrEP Yourself For a Showdown
The U.S. government filed a lawsuit accusing drug maker Gilead of ignoring government patents while raking in billions from HIV-prevention drugs (funded with millions in taxpayer investment). — (The Washington Post)
2. The Struggle is Real
A recent study found that more than half of Medicare enrollees face financial hardships, especially when it comes to prescription drug costs. — (Chicago Tribune)
3. It’s Not Working
The way we pay for prescription drugs is broken, but not beyond repair. H.R. 3 is a promising solution. — (The New York Times Editorial Board)
4. Her Insulin Costs More Than Her Mortgage
P4AD patient advocate Gail DeVore, a person with type 1 diabetes, shares her story about the crippling impact of sky-high insulin prices — (News 5 Cleveland)
5. 2020
A new poll in key battleground states finds health care — and that always includes drug pricing — is a top issue for voters in the lead up to 2020. — (Kaiser Family Foundation & Cook Political Report)
1. Let. Medicare. Negotiate. Already.
A sweeping Medicare negotiation bill saw hearings and markups this week. It’s moving, folks! — (Los Angeles Times)
2.Let’s Get the Job Done
Patients For Affordable Drugs Now has launched a multi-million dollar campaign to encourage lawmakers in DC to make history and lower drug prices. Patient voices will be heard! — (The Hill)
The public is demanding that Congress make lowering drug prices its top priority! — (KFF and JAMA)
5. Transparency in Action!
California passed a major drug pricing transparency bill in 2017, and the first public report stemming from that law is out. The new information is sure to inspire and inform future drug pricing reforms. — (Kaiser Health News)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In response to votes in the House Energy & Commerce Committee and the House Education & Labor Committee to advance H.R. 3, a bill that would lower drug prices for all insured Americans through negotiations, Ben Wakana, the executive director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, issued the following statement:
“A long day of hard work on drug pricing on Capitol Hill produced a good outcome for patients. H.R. 3 cleared two key House committees, and the public heard from a patient and experts during a robust debate in the Ways & Means Committee. Now is the time to press on and advance this bill into law. Patients are waiting, and we are watching.”
BACKGROUND:
Today, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now launched a multi-million dollar campaign urging Washington to pass historic drug pricing reforms.
Eighty six percent of Americans — majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents — support allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices. But under current law, Medicare is prohibited from negotiating directly with drug companies on behalf of taxpayers and Medicare beneficiaries.
Nearly 1 in 3 adults report not taking their medicines as prescribed because of the cost. One in four have difficulty affording their medications.
Americans pay two to three times as much for prescription drugs as other wealthy nations.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Lawmakers have a window to make history and lower drug prices, and a new Patients For Affordable Drugs Now campaign will urge Congress and the White House to seize the moment and act now. The multi-million dollar campaign will include TV, digital, and radio ads across the country featuring patients who support proposals in the House and Senate to rein in skyrocketing drug prices. Big Pharma is spending millions to distort, demonize, and relentlessly attack these proposals because the changes could actually break the rigged system that keeps their profits high and patients’ costs skyrocketing.
“Americans are being crushed by high drug prices, and we want to send a message to the White House and Congress: Big Pharma is spreading scare tactics and lies,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “Legislation to lower drug prices must move now. If lawmakers side with Big Pharma instead of patients, they’ll pay in votes.”
Today’s campaign includes support for the:
House Drug Pricing Package (H.R. 3): The Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019 would let Medicare negotiate directly with drug companies and make negotiated prices available to all Americans — regardless of insurance type. The legislation would also limit drug price spikes to the rate of inflation and cap out-of-pocket costs for seniors in Medicare at $2,000 per year. The House bill shares common ground with the Senate Finance package and the Trump Administration proposal to align the prices of US drugs to prices paid by other wealthy countries.
Senate Finance Drug Pricing Package (S. 2543): The Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act would penalize drug companies for price hikes above inflation and cap out-of-pocket costs for seniors on Medicare at $3,100 per year.
White House’s International Pricing Index: Under the Administration’s proposal, Medicare would pay only 26 percent more than other wealthy countries for drugs administered by physicians or in hospital settings — that’s compared to the 80% more it pays today. According to polling, voters support the proposal by a 71-point margin (80% support vs. 9% oppose).
As part of the campaign, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now will release television, radio, and digital advertisements that show the toll high prescription drug prices are taking on everyday Americans, offer a suite of tools that encourage Americans to contact their elected officials in support of lowering drug prices, and share stories of patients suffering under prescription drug prices on social media.
The campaign will launch on Thursday with a national cable TV and radio ad. It will expand to local TV, digital, and radio ads in targeted Senate and House districts over the upcoming weeks.
Americans overwhelmingly support action to lower drug prices. Eighty-six percent of Americans — majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents — support allowing Medicare to negotiate. Americans pay twice as much for prescription drugs as other nations, and nearly 1 in 3 adults report not taking their medicines as prescribed due to cost.
Big Pharma is lobbying furiously to protect its profits, but Congress and the White House need to listen to patients.
This campaign comes on the heels of a campaign in August encouraging the Senate to enact the bipartisan Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019. That campaign thanked members for supporting reforms and held accountable those who opposed them.
