DATA SET: PHRMA CEOS SEEKING CONTINUED POWER TO DICTATE HIGH U.S. DRUG PRICES EARN COMPENSATION THAT IS 185 TIMES THE AVERAGE AMERICAN HOUSEHOLD

Zebras on the loose and Tiger King 2? That’s almost as wild as the reconciliation debate.

Welcome to the Week in Review.

1.  We’re Leaving Money On The Table

• As part of an ongoing congressional investigation into pharma’s abusive pricing practices, a new report from the House Oversight and Reform Committee estimates that allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prices could have saved taxpayers over $25 billion on just seven drugs between 2014 and 2018. Internal documents also reveal that drug companies continue to hike prices in the United States because of Medicare’s inability to negotiate — and it’s patients like Meg, Lynn, and Heidi who are hurt most by the burden of these high prices. — (House Oversight and Reform Committee)

2. Roundup! Drumbeat Of Patient Voices

• Over the past few months, more and more patient advocates have written to their local publications, shared their stories on social media, and directly contacted their members of Congress to call for Medicare negotiation. Patients recognize that this is the best chance in years to pass this critical reform and are ramping up their advocacy in response. Congress: Listen to patients. Now is the time to get it done. — (P4ADNow)

3. Money Talks

• Reps. Peters (CA-52) and Schrader (OR-05), who voted against H.R. 3 in last week’s House Energy and Commerce Committee markup, have both received large campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical industry, according to data from OpenSecrets. Rep. Peters has already taken $88,550 from the industry for the 2022 election cycle, and Rep. Schrader received $144,252 during the 2020 cycle. It’s clear that the congressmen are fighting for Big Pharma over patients, and their constituents are takingnote. — (OpenSecrets)

4. Representatives Take A Stand

• This week, representatives from across the country wrote op-eds highlighting the drug pricing crisis in America and urging passage of strong Medicare negotiation legislation. “For far too long, the pharmaceutical industry has dictated who in America has access to the medicines they need for their health and well-being,” Rep. Wild wrote in The Hill. In The Washington Post, Reps. Allred, Axne, Davids, Kim, and Spanberger explained, “Congress can stand on the side of consumers and take decisive action to lower prescription drug costs for millions of Americans. By giving Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices, Congress can make sure patients come first.” Thank you, representatives! Patients have your backs. — (The Hill, The Washington Post)

5. The Urgency Of Reform

• A new poll from Gallup and West Health shows that nearly 18 million Americans were unable to afford a prescription drug in their household over the past three months. And in the past year, 10 percent of Americans have personally skipped a dose or have had a family member skip a dose of medication to save money. It’s unacceptable that patients are being forced to choose cost-saving measures over medically prescribed treatment. Lowering drug prices is a matter of life or death. — (Gallup, West Health)

One more thing: Read about why Americans need Medicare negotiation now from drug pricing experts in The Washington Post, a Delaware state representative in the Delaware Business Times, a mother of a bone marrow transplant patient in the Western Tribune, an attorney in The Weston Democrat, and astute readers in the Los Angeles Times.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Congress considers solutions to lower prescription drug prices, patient advocates across the country are voicing their support for allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices on behalf of Americans. With brand name drug prices in the United States four times higher than the prices in similar countries and one in three adults not taking their medicine as prescribed because of cost, it is clear that we need comprehensive drug pricing reform now. 

No one understands the need for lower prices better than patient advocates, the people living with pharmaceutical companies’ high prices. They know there is a clear answer for unaffordable drug prices — strong Medicare negotiation legislation would deliver relief patients so desperately need. From letters-to-the-editor to social media to advocacy tools, patients are adamant that Congress act now!

Below is a highlight of what patient advocates are saying right now about Medicare negotiation. 

Patients in their local opinion sections:
Here are some patient LTEs and op-eds that call on Congress to allow Medicare to negotiate.

​​Letter: Fearmongering from Big Pharma, Don Kreis, Parent of person who lives with Cystic fibrosis, Concord, NewHampshire
Concord Monitor, 9/6/21
My 19-year-old daughter lives with cystic fibrosis. The routine set of prescriptions she needs are priced at roughly $160,000 per year … Big Pharma is fearmongering because they know how important access to medications is for people like her. But allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices wouldn’t limit access at all, it would do the opposite.

Arizonans like me are fed up with high drug prices, and it’s time to fix that, Iesha Meza, Type 1 diabetes, Phoenix, Arizona
Arizona Mirror, 8/24/21
Our lawmakers in Washington, D.C., need to lower prescription drug costs urgently, so that Arizonans and Americans across the country don’t have to continue making difficult choices and impossible tradeoffs between paying for our prescription drugs or other necessary essentials.

Letter: ​​Let Medicare negotiate drug prices, Jacquie Persson, Crohn’s disease, Waterloo, Iowa
The Courier, 8/22/21
If I knew that even without insurance, if the prescription that I needed was within reach, I would no longer have to stress about the “what ifs” … I know that Sens. Charles Grassley and Joni Ernst and Rep. Ashley Hinson want patients like me to be able to afford the medications I need. It’s time to allow Medicare to negotiate.

Letter: Manchin and Capito need to back Medicare drug-price negotiations, Ashley Suder, Systemic lupus, Morgantown, West Virginia
Charleston Gazette-Mail, 5/10/21
In the past, I’ve had to stop taking it altogether, patch together funding or switch from critical drugs that my doctors prescribed me to take to less-effective medications… Thankfully, the House of Representatives has reintroduced a bill that would allow Medicare to directly negotiate for lower drug prices. This is a big deal.

Don’t believe these ads, Tammy de la Cruz, Chronic inflammatory polyneuropathy, North Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas Sun, 9/2/21
Medicare negotiation wouldn’t limit access for patients, it would do the opposite. This policy would make sure patients can access the medications we need at prices we can afford.

Patients on Social Media: 
Here are some posts from patient advocates sharing their experience with high drug prices and demanding reform:

Patient Advocacy Tools:
Through MedicareNegotiation.org, patients are contacting their members of Congress to demand passage of legislation to allow Medicare to negotiate.

Ramae Hamrin, Multiple myeloma, Bemidji, Minnesota: “In 2018, I was diagnosed with an incurable blood cancer called multiple myeloma. I rely on a daily oral chemotherapy drug called Revlimid to keep me alive. At the beginning of this year, the price of this drug went up by 4.5 percent, bringing it to over $15,000 each month. There is a clear answer to these high drug prices — allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices so that people like me don’t have to deplete their life savings, cash out their 401(k)s, and sell their homes just to be able to afford the drugs that keep them alive.”

Kris Garcia, Hemophilia, Denver, Colorado: “Having multiple bleeding disorders, including hemophilia, leaves me in a constant position of uncertainty. Any emergency can quickly turn into both a health and financial crisis. If Medicare were allowed to negotiate lower drug prices, patients like me would be given financial relief from the burdensome cost of prescription drugs. I know all too well that drugs don’t work if people cannot afford them, and it is long overdue that Medicare be able to negotiate for lower drug prices for patients.”

Lynn Scarfuto, Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Herkimer, New York: “Helping cancer patients find ways to pay for their medication was my job. When I was diagnosed with cancer, it became my life. But the medicine I depend on is priced at nearly $15,000 every month. What happens to millions of Americans like me who can’t afford the drugs we so desperately need. Congress, the opportunity to act is now.” 
Watch in video form HERE.

Patricia Mckenzie, High blood pressure, Insulin-dependent diabetes, Lithonia, Georgia: “People have to choose between eating and their medications. They have to choose between life and death. And that should not be a choice. It is long past time for Congress to pass legislation to allow Medicare to negotiate fair prescription drug prices on behalf of people like me.”

Broadway reopened, but final curtain call is coming for Big Pharma price gouging as House Ways and Means advances H.R. 3.

Welcome to the Week in Review.

1.  ?Win In The House?

• The House Ways and Means committee advanced the comprehensive provisions of H.R. 3 for inclusion in the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package this week. The committee’s favorable report ensures Medicare negotiation will be incorporated into the reconciliation package that moves to the House floor in coming weeks. “We applaud Chairman Richard Neal and Democratic members on the committee for standing up to Big Pharma and fighting for H.R. 3,” P4ADNow’s David Mitchell said. “​​Now the House and Senate must move forward with reconciliation to fulfill their promise to pass strong Medicare negotiation to lower drug prices on behalf of Americans.” — (Axios, Los Angeles Times)

2. Flip-Floppers

• Right before the Ways and Means Committee advanced H.R. 3, three Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee — Reps. Peters, Rice, and Schrader — sided with Big Pharma and failed to support the drug pricing provisions. Their opposition is a speed bump on the way to reconciliation, but patients are holding them accountable with new ads that target Reps. Peters and Rice, who have an opportunity to vote in favor of the reconciliation package on the floor and advance the Medicare negotiation legislation. “It makes me so angry that members of Congress are choosing Big Pharma over patients,” says multiple sclerosis patient Therese Ball in the new ads. “It’s unforgivable.” — (Common Dreams)

3. Ads On Ads

• P4ADNow also launched another TV adthis week as part of its campaign to ensure patient voices are heard in the midst of multiple million-dollar Big Pharma campaigns full of lies and scare tactics. The new ad features Lynn Scarfuto, a retired nurse and cancer patient who faces a $15,000 price tag for her cancer medication, Imbruvica. “What happens to millions of Americans like me who can’t afford the drugs we so desperately need?” Lynn asks, “Congress, the opportunity to act is now.” Check out all our recent ads here. — (P4ADNow)

4. Sea To Shining Sea

• New data collected by Data for Progress on behalf of P4ADNow and Protect Our Care shows overwhelming, bipartisan support for Medicare negotiation in every state and congressional district. The project surveyed 4,222 likely voters and found that 86% back reforms that give Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices; 81% believe prescription drug costs are “unreasonable”; and only 12% believe pharma’s argument that letting Medicare negotiate lower prices will harm innovation. The survey was modeled onto every congressional district in the country and all 50 states. It’s time to pass drug pricing reform. — (P4ADNow)

5. Voices Build For Lower Drug Prices

• Elected officials and editorial boards are making their voices heard in support of allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices. State and local officials in West Virginia say, “We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to finally bring down drug prices for American families.” State Senator Troy Singleton agrees that, “Giving Medicare the power to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices for all Americans can save patients more than $150 billion and create $500 billion in savings for the federal government.” The New Jersey Star-Ledger warns the public not to be fooled by “dark money groups running a scaremongering ad campaign,” and explains that “lower drug prices also means lower insurance premiums and copays for patients who desperately need them.” The answer is clear: Let Medicare negotiate. — (WTRF, New Jersey Star-Ledger, New Jersey Star-Ledger)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Patients For Affordable Drugs Now launched new ads today calling out Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) and Congresswoman Kathleen Rice (NY-04) for turning their backs on patients and attempting to block legislation that would allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices on behalf of Americans. The ads, which launched after the representatives voted against H.R. 3 in the House Energy and Commerce Committee markup of the reconciliation package, feature multiple sclerosis patient Therese Ball who calls out the members for choosing Big Pharma over patients. Each ad includes a 6-figure spend and will run in CA-52 and NY-04 on cable TV and digital platforms through the week of September 27. 

“Congressman Peters and Congresswoman Rice buckled and turned their backs on patients in this week’s Energy and Commerce markup. We will not stand by while these representatives attempt to block effective Medicare negotiation legislation that would bring relief 90 percent of Americans are demanding,”  said David Mitchell, a patient with incurable blood cancer whose drugs carry a list price of more than $900,000 per year and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “The House Ways and Means Committee stood strong with patients and voted to advance H.R. 3 in the reconciliation package. We look forward to the full House and Senate enacting effective Medicare negotiation legislation in the reconciliation package that will ensure patients get the innovation we need at prices we can afford.”

On Wednesday, the House Ways and Means committee reported out the comprehensive provisions of H.R. 3 for inclusion in the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package this year. The Ways and Means Committee vote followed a tie vote in the Energy and Commerce Committee that occurred after three Democrats failed to support the drug pricing provisions. The Ways and Means Committee’s favorable report ensures Medicare negotiation will be incorporated into the reconciliation package that moves to the House floor. 

“The medications I need to live are priced at over $7,000 every month. I can’t afford these prices —I don’t know how anyone can,” multiple sclerosis patient Therese Ball of Ogden Dunes, IN, says in the ads. “It makes me so angry that members of Congress are choosing Big Pharma over patients — it’s unforgivable.”

Watch the ad in CA-52 here.
Watch the ad in NY-04 here.

Rep. Peters touted his support for H.R. 3 in 2019. But after receiving over $239,000 in contributions from the pharmaceutical and health products industry, he flip-flopped to oppose the bill, even threatening to derail his party’s budget bill if it includes the legislation. In his district, 9 out of 10 voters support allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, and nearly 8 out of 10 voters think drug prices are unreasonable.

“Scott Peters just voted against a bill to let Medicare negotiate lower prices for patients, siding with drug companies so they can keep charging us the highest prices in the world,” the ad in CA-52 says. “Tell Congressman Peters: stop selling us out to drug companies.”

Rep. Rice has supported HR 3 and campaigned on lowering drug prices and taking on Big Pharma, but broke her promise to patients and flipped her position just days before the vote in Energy and Commerce. In her district, 9 out of 10 voters support allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, and nearly 8 out of 10 voters think drug prices are unreasonable.

“Kathleen Rice promised to take on the drug companies and lower prescription prices — instead, she’s standing with Big Pharma to keep prices high,” says the ad in NY-04. “Tell Congresswoman Rice, put lower prices for patients before drug company profits.”

Simultaneously, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is running two national adsto combat Big Pharma lies and scare tactics. These ads are part of a 7-figure campaign that includes digital ads that will run across a variety of websites and news outlets and congressional outreach, where patient advocates will contact their members of Congress to demand passage of legislation to allow Medicare to negotiate. P4ADNow’s recent ads can be found here. 

Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is the only independent national patient organization focused exclusively on policy changes to lower prescription drug prices. It does not accept funding from any organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following statement was issued by David Mitchell, a cancer patient and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, following the House Ways and Means Committee’s favorable report on the reconciliation bill:

“The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee stood strong with patients today by voting to advance H.R. 3 in the reconciliation package. The inclusion of this strong Medicare negotiation legislation fuels momentum towards comprehensive, meaningful reform to provide relief to millions of Americans facing high drug prices in this country. 

“We applaud Chairman Richard Neal and Democratic members on the committee for standing up to Big Pharma and fighting for H.R. 3, which will ensure patients get the innovation we need at prices we can afford. 

​​”Now the House and Senate must move forward with reconciliation to fulfill their promise to pass strong Medicare negotiation to lower drug prices on behalf of Americans.” 

BACKGROUND:

• The successful Ways and Means Committee vote follows a tie vote from earlier today in the Energy and Commerce Committee that occurred after three Democrats failed to support drug pricing provisions. Our statement responding to these three members can be found here. Ways and Means’ favorable report ensures that H.R. 3 will be incorporated into the reconciliation package that moves to the floor.
• The House’s advancement aligns with the president’s Build Back Better plan, which includes lowering drug prices through Medicare negotiation.  
  • The president’s Build Back Better plan builds on his campaign promise to lower prices by allowing Medicare to negotiate. 
  • Since then, the president has doubled down on his commitment, and he strongly reaffirmed his support for lower drug prices through Medicare negotiation.
• The Senate Finance Committee is drafting a bill that would allow Medicare to negotiate and is likely to be included in the Senate’s final reconciliation package. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Wyden recently released his guiding principles for drug pricing reform, which are expected to be included in the bill. Chairman Wyden said, “We are moving aggressively to put together a prescription drug package that protects those millions of Americans who believe they’re getting mugged at the pharmacy.” When asked if the reconciliation bill will include Medicare negotiation, he responded, “No question about it.” 
  • The Wall Street Journal reported, “Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders has said he hopes to include provisions allowing the federal government to negotiate prices for certain costly drugs in Medicare.”

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