NEW AD CAMPAIGN Thanks Rep. Abigail Spanberger for Fighting to Lower Drug Prices
RICHMOND — Big Pharma is furiously lobbying Washington to protect its profits, but Rep. Abigail Spanberger is fighting for patients as she works to lower drug prices. That’s why today, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now launched a six-figure campaign to thank Rep. Spanberger for her leadership in the fight to lower drug prices.
Watch the ad campaign videos, “Jackie,” and “Gail.”
Under current law, Medicare is prohibited from negotiating directly with drug companies, and as a result the average American pays two to three times more for prescription drugs than citizens in other wealthy countries. Rep. Spanberger supports policies to let Medicare negotiate directly with drug companies. Additionally, Spanberger is a cosponsor of the bipartisan SPIKE Act, which requires drug manufacturers to justify large price increases and high launch prices for drugs.
“Virginians are being crushed by high drug prices, and Rep. Spanberger is fighting back,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “We want to send a message to voters in VA-7: Big Pharma is spreading scare tactics and lies, but Rep. Spanberger is standing up for patients.”
As part of the campaign, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now will release a slew of digital ads that show the toll high prescription drug prices are taking on everyday Americans, offer a suite of tools that encourage Americans to contact their representatives in support of lowering drug prices, and share stories of patients suffering under prescription drug prices on social media.
These ads come on the heels of a campaign in August when Patients For Affordable Drugs Now thanked GOP Senators who supported the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019.
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.
The mission of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now (P4ADNow) is public education and advocacy regarding America’s need to curb drug prices. Touted by The Hill as “a leading drug pricing advocacy group,” Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is a bipartisan non-profit organization established under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Service code. As a 501(c)(4), P4ADNow engages in electoral activity and direct advocacy in support of legislation that would lower drug prices.
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LANSING — Big Pharma is furiously lobbying Washington to protect its profits, but Rep. Slotkin is fighting for patients as she works to lower drug prices. That’s why today, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now launched a six-figure campaign to thank Rep. Slotkin for her leadership in the fight to lower drug prices. The average American pays two to three times more for prescription drugs than those in other wealthy countries.
Watch the ad campaign videos, “Jackie,” and “Gail.”
Rep. Slotkin is a cosponsor of H.R. 3 — a bill that would let Medicare negotiate directly with drug companies and make lower prices available to all Americans — regardless of insurance type. The legislation would penalize drug companies for charging Americans more than citizens of other countries. It would limit drug price increases to the rate of inflation and cap out-of-pocket costs for seniors in Medicare at $2,000 per year. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the bill would reduce the cost of the most expensive drugs by as much as 55%.
“Michigan residents are being crushed by high drug prices, and Rep. Slotkin is fighting back,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “We want to send a message to voters in MI-8: Big Pharma is spreading scare tactics and lies, but Rep. Slotkin is standing up for patients.”
As part of the campaign, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now will release a slew of digital ads that show the toll high prescription drug prices are taking on everyday Americans, offer a suite of tools that encourage Americans to contact their representatives in support of lowering drug prices, and share stories of patients suffering under prescription drug prices on social media.
These ads come on the heels of a campaign in August when Patients For Affordable Drugs Now thanked GOP Senators who supported the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019.
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.
The mission of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is public education and advocacy regarding America’s need to curb drug prices. Touted by The Hill as “a leading drug pricing advocacy group,” Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is a bipartisan non-profit organization established under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Service code. As a 501(c)(4), P4ADNow engages in electoral activity and direct advocacy in support of legislation that would lower drug prices.
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DUBUQUE — Big Pharma is furiously lobbying Washington to protect its profits, but Rep. Abby Finkenauer is fighting for patients as she works to lower drug prices. That’s why Patients For Affordable Drugs Now today launched a six-figure campaign to thank Rep. Finkenauer for her leadership in the fight to lower drug prices.
Under current law, Medicare is prohibited from negotiating directly with drug companies, and as a result the average American pays two to three times more for prescription drugs than citizens in other wealthy countries. Rep. Finkenauer supports letting Medicare negotiate directly with drug companies. Additionally, Finkenauer is a co-sponsor of the bipartisan CREATES Act, a bill that woud crack down on a tactic drug companies use to block lower-cost generics.
“Iowans are being crushed by high drug prices, and Rep. Finkenauer is fighting back,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “We want to send a message to voters in IA-1: Big Pharma is spreading scare tactics and lies, but Rep. Finkenauer is standing up for patients.”
As part of the campaign, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now will release a slew of digital ads that show the toll high prescription drug prices are taking on everyday Americans, offer a suite of tools that encourage Americans to contact their representatives in support of lowering drug prices, and share stories of patients suffering under prescription drug prices on social media.
These ads come on the heels of a campaign in August when Patients For Affordable Drugs Now thanked GOP Senators who supported the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019.
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.
The mission of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now (P4ADNow) is public education and advocacy regarding America’s need to curb drug prices. Touted by The Hill as “a leading drug pricing advocacy group,” Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is a bipartisan non-profit organization established under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Service code. As a 501(c)(4), P4ADNow engages in electoral activity and direct advocacy in support of legislation that would lower drug prices.
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WASHINGTON — As millions of Americans demand lower drug prices, momentum continues to build for policy changes out of the House and Senate. Three House committees voted to advance HR 3, two Republican senators announced their strong support for the Senate Finance Package, and patients spoke up in a multi-million dollar ad campaign urging Washington to rein in skyrocketing drug prices without delay.
“The past week demonstrates that the power of millions of Americans demanding lower drug prices can overcome Big Pharma’s false claims and fear mongering,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “Americans are done listening to pharma’s tired lies and are pushing their elected officials to act immediately.”
In the past week, America has witnessed:
HOUSE MOMENTUM BUILDING: Three House committees voted to advance HR 3 — the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act — to a vote in the full House of Representatives. The bill would allow Medicare to negotiate directly with drug corporations on behalf of all Americans — regardless of insurance type. The Ways & Means Committee strengthened the bill Tuesday by voting to direct savings from lower prices toward new dental, vision, and hearing benefits for Medicare beneficiaries. In just the last week, 19 additional HR 3 cosponsors were added to bring the total to 68 members.
GROWING SENATE SUPPORT: The Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019 continued to pick up support in the Senate. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) published an op-edexpressing strong support for the bill. Senators Cassidy (R-LA) and Grassley penned a separate op-ed demonstrating continued support from the Louisiana senator whose vote was critical to passage out of the Senate Finance Committee. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) also recentlylent her support to the bill.
PATIENT VOICES GROWING LOUDER: Patients For Affordable Drugs Now launched a multi-million dollar campaign to urge Congress and the White House to seize the moment and act now to lower drug prices. The initiative includes TV, radio and digital advertising, social media, and mobilization of patients to contact their elected officials. This is in the face of more than$5 million in false and misleading ads from Big Pharma and groups it has funded to scare Americans, and almost $18 million in lobbying in the third quarter of this year alone.
Polling shows Americans say lowering drug prices should be Congress’s top priority among all health issues. Almost 90 percent of Americans support allowing the government to negotiate directly with drug corporations. Four out of five Americans blame high drug company profits for high prices. Three out of four Americans don’t trust drug companies to price their products fairly.
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My name is Bob Fowler. I am a North Ridgeville, Ohio resident, a soon-to-be-retired college professor, and a cancer patient. I am also one of the thousands of people across Ohio who is desperate for relief from skyrocketing drug prices.
I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in March 2006. I received a stem cell transplant in 2009, and shortly after that began taking a pricey chemotherapy drug, Revlimid.
For the last 10 years, I have taken Revlimid to treat my incurable blood cancer. Ten years ago, this drug cost my employee medical insurance plan $7,143 for a 28-day supply; today the price has jumped to $14,602. The cost has more than doubled for the exact same drug. Not so much as a molecule has been changed –– just the price. Every 28 days I receive 21 capsules of Revlimid; there are 13 of these 28-day cycles in a year; this amounts to approximately $190,000 per year.
Now that I am retiring, I am weighing my options for Medicare, and God only knows what the outcome of that will be. I am currently working with several knowledgeable experts to help me navigate the Medicare labyrinth to make the best choices for my wife and me. Early estimates tell us we can expect to pay at least $12,000 a year for my Medicare Part D drug coverage alone. Believe it or not, this was actually a relief to me. With the high retail price of my super-drug, I was afraid that it would cost me many tens of thousands of dollars under a Medicare Part D drug plan, because there is no mechanism currently to curb soaring Medicare drug prices.
Allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices would change the lives of so many patients like me. Rapidly rising prices for drugs like mine are a good example of why arbitration is needed more than ever. Medicare negotiations would give me hope that the price of my super-drug would stop increasing like a runaway train. It would give me hope that my wife and I would not deplete our retirement savings due to my medical expenses. It would bring me such relief to know that Medicare drug prices are being managed rationally and logically. I am strongly in favor of allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices. My financial health and perhaps even my life itself depend upon it.
My name is Ruth Rinehart and I am a resident of Tampa, Florida. I am a nurse case manager and just like some of my patients, I rely on life-saving medication for my survival.
I have a primary immune deficiency and have required an antibody replacement every three weeks for the last 26 years. The cost of my infusions varies between $3,000 and $4,000 each time. As a result of this, I have to make sure I am covered under the most expensive Medicare plan to make sure the infusions are covered at the highest rate. The cost of the insurance plan is equivalent to the cost of our mortgage.
A few years ago, we fell victim to the decline of the economy, the housing boom, and my husband’s job loss. All of that coupled with my high drug costs caused us to lose our home and file for bankruptcy.
This has had a devastating impact on our lives. Instead of having retirement savings, which we were on track to have before my illness, we are now living month to month on Social Security. I had to go back to work as a nurse at 67 years old in order to make ends meet.
If drug costs were more affordable, it would take such a financial burden off my family. My husband is now also ill, and unfortunately, his drugs are not covered by insurance and so he cannot take what is being recommended for him. All we want is access to our medication without having to bankrupt our family.
That being said, as a patient who is reliant on the services of Medicare and who would benefit from more affordable drug prices, I am strongly in favor of the proposal to allow Medicare to negotiate prices with drug manufacturers. This measure would change the lives of countless patients. Drug prices are out of control, and Medicare negotiation would help to remedy the plight we face.
My name is Robert Keller. I’m a 66-year old resident of Parsippany, NJ.
I have dealt with Type 1 diabetes for more than 40 years and I’ve had a kidney transplant. I have relied on long-term disability due to my diabetic symptoms. This allowed me to not only afford my medication, but also to stay at home with my two sons and take care of them. It’s been challenging, but I prefer to see the bright side of things. I got to stay at home with my two sons and be the best dad I could be. I taught them to fish, I was involved as a school parent, and even the only stay-at-home dad at the school’s Mother’s Tea.
But my disability income ended last year, and now many of my healthcare costs depend on my wife. She is 65 and still working, with no retirement in sight because of the high costs of my medication. She can’t stop working because if we were to use Medicare, my medication would cost my family up to $1,800 per month. That’s completely unaffordable.
I wish that my wife could retire and we could move to Medicare, but because of the high cost of medication, that simply isn’t an option. I believe that Medicare should be able to negotiate lower drug prices for their beneficiaries. If they were to negotiate down the cost of my medication, my wife and I would enjoy a higher quality of life.
I share my story because I want others to value good health, to thank God for it, but also, to try to take a walk in other people’s shoes. Think about when it might be you or a loved one in that hospital bed –– and how you would like to be treated. I can assure you you’d want to be able to afford your medicines.
My name is Sue Lee and I’m a 77-year-old resident of Crestwood, Kentucky. I worked in health insurance for years before I retired and I endured years of painful plaque psoriasis while I was in the workforce.
When I was prescribed Humira, I quickly discovered that it was a “miracle drug” in treating my symptoms. It helped me treat the painful sores on my body that had plagued me for years.
However, I have been forced to stop taking Humira after learning the treatment would cost me over $8,000 a year out-of-pocket. I don’t have too large of a savings account and I live off of the fixed income provided to me by Social Security. I can’t afford to pay for Humira under any circumstances. When I was employed and under employer insurance, my copay was only $5. But with retirement and Medicare came the new, insurmountable price tag.
It just isn’t fair. I do the best I can to maintain my health. I live healthy and try to maintain an active lifestyle. I worked well past retirement and saved as much as I could. Even that couldn’t save me from these extremely high drug prices. These prices are devastating patients all around the country. If Medicare had the ability to negotiate for their beneficiaries, maybe I would be able to afford Humira. I want Medicare to be able to negotiate down the prices of necessary, life-saving drugs to help patients like me.
