My name is Cynthia Tidrick and I live in Princeton, WV. I’m 60 years old, work as a contractor for a life science company, and live with emphysema.
Emphysema is a progressive lung disease that, even when treated, leads to shortness of breath and continued scarring. So that I can support myself, perform activities of daily living, and enjoy physical mobility, I need a long acting inhaler called Bevespi. This medication opens my airways and helps me breathe easier. However, Bevespi has become increasingly unaffordable.
I am a Technical Writer and for the last decade have worked as contracted labor. I continue to work contracts, usually six months at a time. Consequently, my health insurance is always precarious. Over the past few years, the cost for my inhaler has ranged by hundreds of dollars depending on my insurance plan. But over the last 18 months, which included two contracts and a period of unemployment, I have paid and continue to pay $449 for a 30 day supply. I am bewildered by the high price of my inhaler.
I have tried other long acting inhalers that were financially affordable, but the side effects were debilitating and required additional medications to treat.
Thus far, I am very lucky to be able to afford my inhaler despite this high cost. But all that has to happen is for my current contract to fail to renew, and I am in trouble. I budget around this cost and keep the price in mind every month. I am 60 and believe I would be better served by affordable medication and saving that $400 dollars a month for my pending retirement. The fewer services I need as a retired senior, the better for West Virginia and the United States tax payer.
Lower drug prices for long acting inhalers like Bevespi would bring peace of mind to me and countless other patients across the country. Having predictable costs over time makes budgeting easier, savings more robust, and we all know less stress makes for a happier public.
Currently, Congress has the chance to pass meaningful drug reforms that would allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, curb drug price increases that exceed inflation, and cap out-of-pocket costs for seniors. I need my Senator, Joe Manchin, to pass these reforms now. West Virginians like me can’t wait any longer for relief from high drug prices.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Biden, Rep. Abigail Spanberger, and Secretary Xavier Becerra today highlighted how the drug pricing reforms in the Build Back Better Act will help millions of Americans afford their medicines. On behalf of patients, David Mitchell, a cancer patient and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, issued the following statement:
“President Biden, Secretary Becerra, and Rep. Spanberger know that high prescription drug prices affect every American family and are a serious burden for millions each day. Patients are making impossible decisions between filling prescriptions or buying groceries, cutting pills in half or paying rent. Just last month — in spite of healthy and, in some cases, record revenues — Big Pharma raised the prices of nearly 750 medications that patients depend on. Because of the unjustified and unchecked prices of brand-name drug companies, Americans have less money in their pockets to cover other essential everyday expenses.
“Rep. Spanberger knows this issue is ‘top of mind’ for her constituents. President Biden understands how this issue affects American families. The drug pricing reforms in the Build Back Better Act will put a stop to price gouging, lower prices by allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with drug companies, and cap out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries and millions of people who depend on insulin.
“President Biden, Democrats in the House, and all 50 Democrats in the Senate support these reforms. It’s past time to get it done.”
Background:
Today’s event follows this morning’s announcement of new inflation rates. Rising prices and inflation are a kitchen table concern for American families, according to recent polling.
Last month, drug companies began the new year by hiking the prices of 742 drugs, with 1 in 4 price hikes exceeding the most recent rate of inflation available in early January, and 93 percent exceeding the projected inflation rate for 2023, 2.3 percent.
The prescription drug pricing reforms in the House-passed Build Back Better Act would:
Empower Medicare to negotiate lower prices for the most expensive prescription drugs, including insulin.
Cap annual out-pocket-costs for Medicare beneficiaries at $2,000 in Part D.
Implement a copay cap of $35 a month on insulin products for people on commercial or government insurance plans.
Penalize drug companies for price increases that outpace the rate of inflation.
