Patients For Affordable Drugs Now Extends Campaign Thanking Rep. Sharice Davids For Supporting Medicare Negotiation Bill H.R. 3 To Lower Drug Prices

KANSAS — Patients For Affordable Drugs Now announced it will extend its campaign thanking Rep. Sharice Davids (KS-03) for supporting H.R. 3, a bill that would lower drug prices by allowing Medicare to negotiate on behalf of Kansans. The new phase of the campaign will start July 2 and will include digital video ads as well as grassroots advocacy, in which patients will contact Rep. Davids directly to thank her for standing with patients against Big Pharma. 

“H.R. 3 will ensure Kansans have access to affordable medicine while protecting innovation for the future,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “On behalf of patients, we thank Rep. Davids for standing up to Big Pharma and fighting to pass this important legislation to lower the price of prescription drugs.”

The expanded push will include a new video ad highlighting Steven Hadfield, a patient from Charlotte, North Carolina, who lives with a rare blood cancer and is prescribed a medication priced at $132,000 a year. The ad thanks Rep. Davids for supporting H.R. 3 and urges constituents to ask her to keep fighting for lower drug prices. 

“I’ve been fighting it for seven years,” Steven says in the ad playing on digital platforms. “$132,000. That’s the annual price for my cancer medication. I live in fear over my high drug prices. You wonder how everybody else survives.”

You can watch the ad here. 

P4ADNow’s campaign to support H.R. 3 was first launched on May 20 on the heels of Big Pharma’s [http://]attack ads loaded with lies, pressuring members of Congress not to support H.R. 3. 

H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, was reintroducedin the House of Representatives in April. The chamber passed the bill in the 116th Congress. It will lower prices, rein in price gouging, and reduce out-of-pocket costs by restoring balance to the U.S. drug pricing system to ensure both innovation and affordability.

The Kansas campaign is part of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now’s national campaign across 44 House districts.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following statement was issued by David Mitchell, cancer patient and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, in response to Chairs Maloney and Pallone’s announcement that the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce will investigate the approval and pricing of Biogen’s Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm:

“Once again, Chairs Maloney and Pallone are taking the lead in fighting for patients by investigating the ‘steep price of Biogen’s new Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm and the process that led to its approval despite questions about the drug’s clinical benefit.’

“As patients, we are eager for new treatments for Alzheimer’s and other diseases with unmet need, but a price of $56,000 is simply, as the Alzheimer’s Association puts it, ‘unacceptable.’ Aduhelm is the poster child demonstrating the need for H.R. 3 and Medicare negotiation to curb the unilateral power of drug corporations to set prices as high as they think they can get away with. We are very grateful to Chairs Maloney and Pallone for their continued leadership in support of innovation patients need at prices we can afford.”

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Price hikes are coming up fast, and we’re furious that Big Pharma’s bad behavior has lasted way longer than this movie franchise.
Welcome to the Week in Review.

1. The Principal Principle: Medicare Negotiation

• On Tuesday, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden released his Principles for Drug Pricing Reform, and topping the list is Medicare negotiation. The senator also calls for extending drug pricing reforms to all Americans and including provisions to incentivize innovation. We are grateful for Chairman Wyden’s leadership and look forward to working with him and the Senate Finance Committee to expand on these principles in legislation that will bring relief to millions of patients. — (The Hill)

2.  Don’t Be Fooled

• P4ADNow released a new video this week exposing how Big Pharma’s focus on lowering out-of-pocket prescription drug costs will only shift the way Americans pay for pharma’s high prices. It’s clear that Congress must focus on legislation like H.R. 3 that lowers list prices set by Big Pharma to bring patients real relief. “If we take less money out of this pocket without lowering list prices, pharma will take more money out of that pocket by way of higher premiums and taxes,” the animated video says. “With H.R. 3, patients keep more money in their pockets.” — (P4ADNow)

3.  Path Emerges For Drug Price Reform

• With a bipartisan infrastructure compromise struck, the path for drug pricing reform is coming into view. House leadership has been clear that they intend to include Medicare negotiation bill H.R. 3 in their spending package, and Senate Finance is busy working on their own comprehensive drug pricing bill for inclusion. Patients stand ready to ensure that the final reconciliation bill includes legislation to allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices on behalf of Americans. — (The Washington Post)

4. Aduhelm Spending May Rocket Above NASA

• Government spending on Biogen’s new Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm, which may cost Medicare and Medicare enrollees as much as $29 billion in a single year, could surpass spending on major programs such as NASA and the CDC. With a price tag for each patient of $56,000 a year, Aduhelm will break the bank for taxpayers, employers, insurers, and patients. This week, both employer and insurer groups expressed concern over Aduhelm’s high list price. It’s clear the drug’s outrageous price is a symptom of a broken drug pricing system. Congress must empower Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices. — (The New York Times)

5. Price-Fixing Ploys

• Teva Pharmaceuticals will pay $925,0000 to settle a case in Mississippi where the company is accused of conspiring with other drug corporations to fix prices of generic drugs. But that’s not all: Teva is also in the midst of settlement discussions with a number of other states and is facing a separate federal charge for price fixing. Another egregious example of Pharma doing anything to cash in. — (FiercePharma)

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My name is Steven Alton, and I’m from Albuquerque, New Mexico. I am 69, a Medicare beneficiary and a veteran who has suffered from severe migraines for the last four years. 

My doctors and I don’t know why my migraines started to happen, but I do know that when a migraine comes on, my life is severely impacted. Migraines impair my eyesight and my balance. I suddenly can’t stand bright light. When they hit, I have to stay in a dark room lying down, sometimes for days. 

There is a medication that provides the relief I need to live my life. The drug is called Ubrevly, and 10 pills are priced as much as $3,000. Imagine that — 10 pills, $3,000. I simply can’t afford it. 

For an entire year, I jumped through hoops in order to get this medicine. I had to drive back and forth to my doctor’s office for free samples to treat my migraines. Eventually, I found out that through my insurance I owed  $216 for 10 pills. As a senior on a fixed income, that is still a massive expense for me. 

I’ve managed to come up with the money, but it isn’t easy. A friend from church paid for my first batch of Ubrelvy because I couldn’t afford it, and my church community paid for my second box. I then used my $1,400 COVID stimulus money to buy a third box. 

People like me are falling through the cracks and suffering all while Big Pharma maximizes profits. High drug prices are killing senior citizens and veterans, and pharma leaders don’t seem to care. That’s why we need immediate action from our lawmakers. Medicare should be negotiating the prices of our prescription drugs.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following statement was issued by David Mitchell, a cancer patient and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, in response to the Principles For Drug Pricing Reform released today by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden:

“The principles released today lay a strong and thoughtful foundation for comprehensive reform of the U.S. drug pricing system, from lowering list prices set by drug corporations to reducing out-of-pocket costs for patients at the pharmacy counter. 

“We are very pleased to see the inclusion of Medicare negotiation as the first principle, extension of ‘drug pricing reforms that keep prices and patient costs in check’ beyond Medicare to all Americans, and provisions to spur and reward innovation. We applaud Chairman Wyden’s leadership and look forward to supporting and working with the committee to flesh out the details in legislation that will bring the principles to life and relief to millions of patients.”

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Welcome to the Week in Review (a day early, in observance of Juneteenth)

1. Colorado Stands Up to Big Pharma

• In a big win for patients, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed into law SB 21-175, a bill that establishes a prescription drug affordability board. Colorado is the third state in the country to establish such a board, the first in the country to have a board with the authority to set upper payment limits, and the first in the country where set rates apply to all insurers. The new prescription drug affordability board, which has overwhelming support from Coloradans, is an important step to protecting patients and standing up to Big Pharma. — (AP)

2.  Aduhelm: Medicare Negotiation Poster Child

• The pricey new Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm, which Biogen priced at $56,000, is set to cost taxpayers billions — and underscores exactly why we need Medicare to negotiate drug prices. Big Pharma cannot be allowed to keep dictating drug prices, in this case for an unproven drug, while taxpayers and patients empty their pockets. H.R. 3, the bill in the House to allow Medicare to negotiate lower prices on behalf of Americans, would restore balance to our system so we can get real innovation at prices we can afford. — (The Washington Post)

3.  NJ Patients Need Congress To Support H.R. 3

• P4ADNow founder David Mitchell penned an op-ed that calls on members of Congress, including Sen. Menendez and Rep. Gottheimer, to stand with New Jersey patients and pass H.R. 3. Mitchell explains the need for Medicare negotiation by highlighting New Jersey patient Lisa Wetzel-Trainor’s story about living with fibromyalgia, PTSD, and ADHD and struggling to afford her $1,000-a-month medication she is prescribed to treat her symptoms. More than 1 million Medicare patients in New Jersey would benefit from Medicare negotiation. “It’s time to act.” — (NJ Herald)

4. ?, Maine!

• The Maine state house and senate passed Making Health Care Work for Maine, a strong bipartisan package of five bills that stand up to Big Pharma. If signed into law, two of the bills — LD 675 and LD 1117 — will be the first legislation of its kind to protect patients from pharmaceutical price gouging and unjustified price increases. No patient should suffer so pharma can line its pockets. — (P4ADNow)

5. The People Have Spoken

• New KFF research confirms that prescription drug prices continue to be a top issue to American voters. Three in 10 Americans report they were unable to take their medication as prescribed because of the price. To bring relief to those patients, nearly nine of 10 Americans favor allowing the government to negotiate with drug companies for a lower price that would apply to both Medicare and private insurance. Pass H.R. 3, Congress! The people have your back! — (KFF)

Bonus?: Patients For Affordable Drugs Founder David Mitchell talks to Healthcare-NOW about the importance of Medicare negotiation, drug pricing and innovation, and the COVID-19 vaccine. — (Healthcare-NOW!)

AUGUSTA — The following statement was issued by Lucy Westerfield, deputy executive director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, following the Maine state house and senate votes to pass the Making Health Care Work for Maine package to lower drug prices:

“On behalf of Maine patients, we applaud the Maine state house and senate for passing Making Health Care Work for Maine, a strong bipartisan bill package that stands up to Big Pharma. If signed into law, two of the five bills — LD 675 and LD 1117 — will be the first-in-the-nation legislation of its kind to protect patients from pharmaceutical price gouging and unjustified price increases. Today’s passage is a significant milestone in the effort to provide meaningful relief to Mainers who struggle to afford their medications due to high prices.”

Background:

• The Maine state house and senate passed the Making Health Care Work for Maine package, which includes the following legislation:  
  1. LD 675 would clamp down on unsupported price increases by fining pharmaceutical manufacturers that increase drug prices without justification.
  2. LD 1117 would prohibit price gouging on generic and off-patent drugs and give the state attorney general authority to bring penalties against drug companies that refuse to lower prices.
  3. LD 673 would create an insulin safety net program to provide emergency access to affordable insulin for Mainers needing immediate relief.
  4. LD 686 would strengthen prescription drug pricing transparency by requiring the Maine Health Data Organization to share information collected from drug companies with the public.
  5. LD 120 would establish the Office of Affordable Health Care to help examine the factors contributing to rising prices. 
• Maine patient advocates Lori Dumont, Miriam Wolfe, and Sabrina Burbeck previously testified in support of the bill package before the Health Coverage, Insurance, and Financial Services Committee in April.
• Patients For Affordable Drugs Now mobilized Maine residents to make more than 1000 phone calls to legislators asking them to support the package of bills, including strong versions of LD 675 and LD 1117.
• The Making Health Care Work for Maine package will next move through one final procedural requirement before heading to Governor Janet Mills’ desk for signature.

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