Latest News | Aug 16, 2023

P4ADNow Celebrates One Year Anniversary Of Inflation Reduction Act With The Launch Of Advocacy Hub In Spanish (SPANISH BELOW/ESPAÑOL ABAJO)

Patients Across The Country Are Feeling Relief From The Law’s Drug Price Reforms And Will Continue To Pay Lower Prices In Years To Come

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On the one year anniversary of the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now (P4ADNow) marked the moment by launching a Spanish language version of its advocacy hub, es.medicarenegotiation.org. The site includes an explanation and timeline of the Inflation Reduction Act drug price reforms and tools for advocates to share their story and take action.

“Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is thrilled to celebrate the one year anniversary of the drug price provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act by launching our advocacy hub in Spanish,” said Merith Basey, executive director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “Latinos, many of whom are Spanish speakers, are disproportionately impacted by high drug prices and as part of our commitment to lowering drug prices we want to ensure more patients across the country are not only made aware of these new provisions, but understand how they will be able to benefit from them now and in the future.” 

Patient advocates like Maria Sanchez of Atlanta, Georgia, are already feeling the impacts of the new law. Maria takes Toujeo insulin to manage her diabetes. Before the Inflation Reduction Act, a box of three pens was priced at $259.

“Now, Medicare Part D copays for insulin are capped at $35 for a month’s supply. This copay cap for insulin has saved me money that I can use to buy healthier food for my family, visit my grandchildren more often, or no longer skip out on my test strips,” Maria shared. “These savings will bring consistency to my payments, improve my quality of life, and allow me to purchase the drugs and health supplies I need.”

The groundbreaking drug price reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed August 16, 2022, included:

P4ADNow’s advocacy hub is available in Spanish here and in English here.

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P4ADNow Celebra Un Año De Aniversario De La Ley De Reducción De La Inflación Con El Lanzamiento De Herramienta Digital En Español

Pacientes Alrededor Del País Se Sienten Aliviados Por Las Reformas De Los Precios De Los Medicamentos Y Continuarán Pagando Precios Más Bajos En Los Años Que Vienen

WASHINGTON, D.C. — En el primer aniversario de la aprobación de la Ley de Reducción de la Inflación, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now (P4ADNow), marcó el momento con el lanzamiento de una versión en español de su herramienta digital, Es.medicarenegotiation.org. El sitio incluye una explicación y un cronograma de las reformas en los precios de medicamentos de la Ley de Reducción de la Inflación y herramientas para que activistas compartan su historia y tomen acción. 

“Patients For Affordable Drugs Now se complace en celebrar el primer aniversario de las provisiones de los precios de medicamentos en la Ley de la Reducción de la Inflación al lanzar nuestro centro de defensa en español,” dijo Merith Basey, directora ejecutiva de Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “Los Latinos, muchos de los cuales son hispanohablantes, son desproporcionadamente afectados por los precios altos de los medicamentos y como parte de nuestro compromiso de reducir los precios de los medicamentos, queremos asegurarnos de que más pacientes en todo el país no solo estén al tanto de estas nuevas provisiones, sino que comprendan cómo ellos podrán beneficiarse de ellos ahora y en el futuro”. 

Pacientes defensores como Maria Sanchez de Atlanta, Georgia, ya están sintiendo los impactos de la nueva ley. Maria toma la insulina Toujeo para controlar su diabetes. Antes de la Ley de la Reducción de la Inflación, una caja de tres injecciones tenía un precio de $259. 

“Ahora, los copagos de la Parte D de Medicare para la insulina tienen un tope de $35 por el suministro de un mes. Este tope de copago para la insulina me ahorrado dinero que puedo usar para comprar alimentos más saludables para mi familia, visitar a mis nietos con más frecuencia o dejar de faltar mis tiras reactivas”, compartió Maria. “Estos ahorros traerán consistencia a mis pagos, mejorarán mi calidad de vida, y me permitirán comprar los medicamentos y suministros de salud que necesito.”

Las reformas pioneras de los precios de medicamentos en la Ley de la Reducción de la Inflación, que se aprobó el 16 de Agosto, 2022, incluyeron: 

El herramienta digital de P4ADNow está disponible en español aqui y en inglés aqui

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Welcome to the Week in Review.

1.  Report Update: Hiding In Plain Sight

 2.  Momentum For Drug Price Reforms In Senate

3.   The Inflation Reduction Act Brings On The Savings!

BONUS: In this edition of Big Pharma’s shady behavior: Drug companies shift profits overseas to low-tax jurisdictions in order to line their coffers with billions of dollars. People in the United States pay some of the highest drug prices in the world and receive “none of the benefits” from the U.S. pharmaceutical industry, reportedBusiness Insider.

Have a great weekend! 

(SPANISH BELOW)

I am Lionel Mares, from Sun Valley, CA, a patient advocate speaking in honor of my late mother. As her caregiver, I witnessed first hand the impact of high drug prices on our family.

My mother who unfortunately passed in April 2020, was a Type 2 diabetic patient who took medication to control her blood sugar and other related illnesses, while also being on dialysis. Even though she was on Medicare coverage, the cost of her copays were still very expensive nonetheless. 

We struggled to afford her insulin ranging from NovoLog, Humalog, and Lantus, at times when we had to cover a higher portion of its high price, despite her Medicare coverage. My mother was very ill and suffered tremendously, something I would not wish on anyone else to feel or witness. 

As her caregiver, I took on the financial responsibility to cover the costs of her medications when Medicare did not. The financial toll the high prices of these medications had severely affected me and my family’s financial situation. 

I, thankfully, have not needed any significant medical attention that would succumb me to expensive medication prices while being a patient on Medi-Cal, a California Medicaid healthcare program. I realize the privilege I have as a healthy individual, but I strongly remain passionate about spreading awareness and getting involved in helping make prescription drugs affordable, as I know that would have benefitted my mother earlier and helped many other patients before and after her make surviving easier. 

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Soy Lionel Mares, de Sun Valley, CA, un defensor de pacientes que habla en honor de mi madre fallecida, de quien yo era su cuidador. 

Mi madre, quien lamentablemente falleció en 2020, era una paciente diabética Tipo 2 que tomaba medicamentos para controlar su azúcar en la sangre y otras enfermedades relacionadas, mientras también estaba en diálisis. A pesar de tener la cubierta de Medicare, el costo de sus copagos seguía siendo muy caro. 

Siempre tuvimos dificultades para pagar su insulina de NovoLog, Humalog, o Lantus, siempre y más aun cuando se clasificaba de manera diferente en el sistema de niveles del formulario de Medicare. Mi madre estaba muy enferma y sufrió tremendamente, algo que no desearía que nadie más sintiera o presenciara. 

Como su cuidador, asumí la responsabilidad financiera de cubrir las diferencias de sus medicamentos cuando Medicare no podía. La carga financiera que tenían los altos precios de estos medicamentos afectó gravemente mi situacion financiera y la de mi familia. 

Yo, afortunadamente, no he tenido la necesidad de ninguna atención médica significativa que me hiciera sucumbir a los altos precios de los medicamentos mientras siendo un paciente de Medi-Cal, un programa de atención médica de Medicaid de California. Me doy cuenta del privilegio que tengo como persona sana, pero sigo apasionado por difundir la conciencia y participar en ayudar a que los medicamentos recetados sean asequibles, ya que sé que eso habría beneficiado a mi madre antes y ayudado a muchos otros pacientes antes y después de ella, a sobrevivir.

I am David Bayne, from Conway, South Carolina, and am speaking on behalf of my family who has been affected by the high cost of prescription drugs. 

My wife, Bonnie, is a patient with COPD (or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) taking TRELEGY, a tier three drug on Medicare’s formulary. Because of the high price, even with our Medicare insurance coverage, we face high out-of-pocket costs. In January of 2021, Bonnie’s 90-day prescription of TRELEGY increased in price from $1,801.54 to $1,896.36, and then further increased to $1,999.24 in 2022. I have constantly shared our experience of high price drugs with my three congressional representatives and have been utterly disappointed that they have done nothing but parrot what I believe to be “Big Pharma” lines and lies. 

Because of the high price of Trelegy, we have resorted to ordering Bonnie’s Trelegy prescription through a Canadian pharmacy in Vancouver, Canada, where we pay an out of pocket expense of $265 rather than the $505.26 out of pocket expense through Medicare for the same prescription. This should not be the case. Americans should be able to access their medicines within the American healthcare system.

My experience with the high price of prescription drugs, unfortunately, does not end or start with my wife Bonnie’s experience. Years ago, my wife and I had to navigate the challenges of our son becoming a paraplegic and our daughter being diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) which nearly killed her. At the end of our daughter’s cancer treatment, the costs totaled $1.3 million dollars before insurance. After insurance, her expected out-of-pocket costs also put us as a family in a state of financial difficulty. 

There is another federal prescription drug purchasing program. The Office of Purchasing, Logistics and Acquisition.(OPAL.) This program is used by the Department of Defence, VA, Indian Affairs and Coast Guard. I know negotiation with drug companies is an effective way to majorly lower drug prices. That is because the VA negotiates directly with drug companies and successfully obtains steep discounts.

The cost difference to the U.S. taxpayers and patients, prior to price negotiation, are in the hundreds of million dollars a year. These experiences are what have led me to my personal fight in lowering prescription drug prices and contacting my elected officials until legislation is passed. 

Happy 58th Birthday, Medicare! Only 7 more years until you’re eligible for yourself 🥳

Welcome to the Week in Review.

1.  The Inflation Reduction Act: Building on Medicare’s Reach To Patients

 2.  Buildup To September’s Congressional Session

3.  Patent Abuse: “Profits At Any Price”

BONUS: P4AD submitted comments to the NIH ahead of its workshop Monday, calling on the agency to address the issue of fair pricing for all NIH and taxpayer-funded drugs and make the workshop patient-centered. Worth a read!

Have a great weekend! 

Congress may be in recess, but we’ll be busy writing letters to our Senators to pass bipartisan drug price reforms that boost competition and curb patent abuse!

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Welcome to the Week in Review.

1.  Senate Takes on PBM and Patent Reforms

 2.  Debunking Pharma Doublespeak

3.  The Inflation Reduction Act: More Savings For Patients

Have a great weekend!

Historic things happening this summer: BarbieNeopets relaunch, and Medicare releasing the names of 10 negotiated drugs. C’mon Barbie, time to check on your lower drug prices.  

Welcome to the Week in Review.

1.  Medicare Negotiation: Popular Provisions That Will Bring Relief 

 2.  Momentum Builds On PBM Reforms

3.  Continuing The Push For Competition

BONUS: It’s been almost a year since the Inflation Reduction Act passed and despite Big Pharma fear mongering, drug companies seem to be doing just fine! This week, Novartis announced a $15 billion share buyback and J&J published its quarterly earnings, which increased 6.3% for a total of $25.5 billion in sales. What was that about not enough money for R&D? 👀

Have a great weekend!

Special Edition! All About The:

Welcome to the Week in Review.

ICYMI, Senate Majority Leader Schumer sent a Dear Colleague letter indicating his intention to advance bipartisan bills to lower drug costs during the July work period. Then on Thursday, we launched the Push For Competition To Lower Drug Prices,” calling on the Senate to immediately pass bipartisan drug price competition reforms. Here’s a recap:

BONUS: Speaking of Big Pharma patent abuse, did you see that John Green called out Johnson & Johnson for seeking secondary patents on tuberculosis drug bedaquiline to maintain its monopoly on the drug? This shady move denies millions of people access to the drug. Worth a watch (plus follow the conversation on #patientsoverpatents, which has been trending on Twitter)!

Have a great weekend!